


The Star Guardians Rise Again

by ElementalUnity



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Guardians (League of Legends), Gen, League of Legends - Freeform, Star Guardian - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-10-15 23:51:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 286,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17538713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElementalUnity/pseuds/ElementalUnity
Summary: The Void almost destroyed Runeterra, and now they have returned. Now, the Star Guardians must be reassembled from scratch to fight back, prevent Runeterra from being destroyed, and protect the world they call home.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since the release of the full set of Star Guardian skins, I've had an idea floating around in the back of my head. I've since decided to put it down and for the first time share what I've written with a much wider audience. I thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it, and keep following.
> 
> Another note: I back dated everything, including the original publishing date, to when I first uploaded this to another site.

Prologue

 

In the beginning, the First Star spread out is power giving life to the universe. Seeing what it created, he knew that eventually there would be those who would wish to destroy it. Being that its power was severely weakened by what it did, the First Star used its last strength for the time to create the Star Guardians. They were teams created and then destroyed to defend against the inevitable darkness that would threaten the universe. Originally the Star Guardians were meant to keep the balance between the light and the dark, but frequently they would be seen as taking sides in some petty argument on the planet where they were, and they quickly retreated into the background. Showing themselves when they needed to, and the rest of the time, hiding. While this wasn't the intention of the First Star, it seemed to be what the new reality was.

 

In creating the Universe, the First Star also created a place called the Void. A dark place were those who would seek chaos for the purpose of chaos would be banished. However, the First Star knew that if anyone would find out about the void and its vast power, it would eventually be breached. On the small planet of Runeterra, a mage did exactly that. He Found the void, and a link between the two. Eventually, he managed to find a way to get into the void, but it corrupted him. When he returned to Runeterra, the Star Guardians were there to meet him. The team of 5 quickly destroyed the threat and banished the mage back to the void. The creatures of the void decided to use his magic however to potentially breach the void permanently. This time however, they decided to bide their time to find someone to breach the void permanently and free them.

 

In just the few days that the Void was unleashed on Runeterra, a planet already scarred from decades of magical war, the event of opening a portal to the Void almost destroyed it. It was stopped by the nations of the planet banding together with powerful magics to stop and seal the rupture. The Guardians seemingly perished in the final fight, but while severely wounded, they all survived. The void magics almost destroyed the world and they put aside centuries of conflict to rebuild their shattered world. The various species throughout the world took decades, but eventually they managed it.

 

The First Star and the Runeterra Star Guardians worked for years to prevent that from happening, but even Star Guardians do not live forever. Eventually they have to pass on their powers to a new generation. That is what happened, and with the Guardians almost unneeded, they faded back into society, eventually passing on into the First Light.

 

In Runeterra, some minor conflicts had been fought over for years since the closing of the portal, but the practice of Void Magic, as it became known, was strictly forbidden with punishments being severe and quick. Not even mortal enemies would wish those horrors on their enemies again. There was one Void Member who did not make it back into the portal. Eternally seeking knowledge, the "Wandering Eye" as he became known, Vel'Koz sought to pierce the veil for the sole reason to seek more knowledge. He had little caring for the machinations of the voidlings. Originally cruel in his methods, he refined them over the years to be humane and only those willing undergo those old methods, were volunteers. Usually to try and cure disease or great suffering.

 

Vel'Koz also became very tempered by the experiences on Runeterra, actually coming to care for its inhabitants. The Void Eye as he was previously known, became a previous life. He sought to see the universe, even though it was bright and not what he knew, it was also beautiful it its own way. Eventually seeking out the Star Guardian chapter, they agreed to work together to stop the void from piercing the veil again and repair it. The built Guardian Tower, a secret tower where the Guardians could practice and work in secret while the public face of the Tower, the Vel'Koz International Library was constructed around it to hide this secret.

 

However, all of their planning was for nothing. Eventually the Void found a hole just big enough to get a message through, drawing two powerful mages to them. Working together, they erected a powerful portal to open a hole to the void. Vel'Koz scrambled to stop them with the Guardians help, but even with all their power, they were unable to stop the void portal from opening. Emerging from the portal was a massive monster that did so much damage that after pushing the two mages back into the Void, it kept the portal open just long enough for the most senior of the void members to escape and move beyond Runeterra. The Star Guardians were immediately activated and they fought against the void around the universe.

 

However, the team on Runeterra was devastated. Once again Void Magic spread across Runeterra and the Governments quickly reacted and set planning an expedition to survey the damage. What they found devastated them. They quickly managed to destroy the portal as there was no one defending it now with Summoner Magic. While this strengthened the incredibly fragile veil near Runeterra, it still remained thin compared to other places in the universe. After a period of time, the two Mages were identified, Malzahar, a powerful seer, and Kassadin, a warrior mage.

 

Over the next century, Vel'Koz spent his days readying for when the void would return. The Star Guardians were devastated in the final attack and their powers left those in which they inhabited. Usually once Guardian powers passed, they pulled in Guardians from other worlds, but given the nature of the universe at that point, that wasn't an option. There was also another larger issue that came up as the investigation continued.

 

It was also discovered that something unusual had happened once the powers had left those individuals. Because of the summoner magics that surrounded Runeterra to protect and heal it, the powers of the Guardians, which usually did leave the world, had instead been captured in them and as a result, couldn't leave to make new Guardians elsewhere. Eventually they would coalesce into new guardians, but it would take time. In that, time because a variable in which no one could determine how much they had.

 

A second consequence of the Summoner Magics is that it also cut Runeterra off from the rest of the universe. That left them unable to contact the First Star, or summon other Guardian Teams to help. This placed Vel'Koz in a predicament. With no Guardians on the planet, or at least that he could find, he alone was charged to find the new Guardians and help them rebuild.

 

Needing time and energy,  after numerous battles that resulted in more losses than victories, the void eventually had to return to their original portal to try and get more from the void itself. Arriving at Runeterra, they found the portal destroyed. Angered, Malazhar, who was just a minor character before, had risen to lead the void forces across the universe, planned to reconstruct the portal and ensure it would remain open permanently. They had hoped for an easy fight, but what they found was a world that had been carefully fortified against void energy.

 

Another problem was that he did not have the energy to not rebuild the portal. He also didn't have the energy to unleash his ultimate monster to overcome the summoner magics surrounding the planet. He turned to his remaining legion and gave each a task, but their main task as a whole was to collect the energy they would need to unleash the monsters, and rebuild the portal. Because of his great power, they all obeyed him without question.

 

On Runeterra, Vel'Koz sensed the return of the Void and knew that time was up, but it couldn't have come at a worse time. For years he had tried to free the powers that had become trapped by the summoner magic on Runeterra but all his efforts had been for nothing. As a consequence, the Guardian powers still hadn't fully transferred and were still coalescing but they had at least settled into individuals. But they had no training, no knowledge of their powers, and no knowledge of the danger they faced.

 

It is here that our story begins.


	2. The Guardians Rise Again

"Luxanna, you are going to be late. Get up!" Her mother's voice jolted Lux out of her sleep. She looked around her room for a brief moment then she turned to her clock. One look sent her into a panic. Lux sprang out of bed, quickly changed, and ran down the stairs into the kitchen. Her older brother, Garen sat there and was just shaking his head. While Lux wasn't always as late or clumsy as he always made out, she did have a habit of not waking up in the morning.

 

"Finally decided to wake up?" Lux just have him a look that sent him rolling his eyes and back to his breakfast.

 

"Lux please eat something. I don't want another call from school saying you fell asleep in class again."

 

"Fine." Lux regretfully grabbed a few slices of toast while she just continued to walk around. Today was going to be a a great day because  her class would be traveling to the Great Library of Runeterra. A library founded by the Voidling Vel'Koz, who was locked out of the Void when the portal collapsed. After the collapse, he didn't join the rest of the voidlings. Instead, he wandered Runeterra for years in his search for knowledge, eventually finding beauty in the world, he stayed and continued his experiments but changed his methods drastically. Eventually, he founded the Library and subsequent museum to share his knowledge. It took time, but eventually Runeterra came to like the "All Seeing Eye" as he became known.

 

"Lux let's go." Garen's voice shook Lux from her thoughts as her older brother was holding his car keys. "I'll give you a lift." She just smiled, grabbed her lunch and her backpack, and quickly followed her brother into his car.

 

"Sis, I worry about you at times." Garen said as they moved away from the house.

 

"I guess I'm not a morning person. Why does school have to start so early? I've never understood that. Everyone for the first hour seems so asleep. Well mostly."

 

"Your guess is as good as mine. Look there's Amy." Lux looked up to see her best friend and rolled down the window.

 

"Hey Amy, you want a lift?" Lux said as Garen stopped the car next to her.

 

"Sure. You know your brother is such a gentlemen."

 

"Please don't further inflate his already oversized ego. It just might burst."

 

"I can just let you out here and you can run the rest of the way." He replied.

 

"No we are good." Garen just rolled his eyes and allowed himself a laugh as he pulled back into the road. While the girls normally walked to school, when Lux was this late, Garen often drove her since his school was nearby. As they drove, he tuned out talk between the two.

 

"You study for the test today?"

 

"Test?! I thought there was a field trip today?"

 

"I'm just teasing you silly. You know this is what I've been looking forward to for months. This library is huge and we just get to wander around it for hours. I'm sure they will have an assignment for us to do, but I'm also sure that we will have time to see a lot."

 

"Yeah. This place is amazing. He brought me along when he went."

 

"At our mother's insistence." Garen said, with a note of resentment in his voice.

 

"Still it was amazing. I did hear that the new exhibit on the Star Guardians finally opened so that will be amazing."

 

"Girls we're here." Garen interrupted as he pulled up to Grove Middle School. Lux and Amy quickly got out.

 

"Thanks." Lux said as she sprinted into the building. Garen rolled his eyes again and set off towards his own school. The classroom was already packed with their classmates as they both entered. Their teacher, Ms. Teller, stood at the door.

 

"Well not late. Your brother drove you?"

 

"Yes Ms. T. I'm sure that I would have made it anyway."

 

"Knowing you, probably after sprinting. Sit down." Lux and Amy quickly took their seats. "Ok class, today is the biggest trip of the year. The Great Library is one of the wonders of Runeterra. It was founded by Vel'Koz of the Void, and is currently managed by Nasus, the great Keeper. You will have an assignment and if I hear one word about it, you will have two. You all knew this was coming. So pass these sheets around. There are 20 questions, but you only have to do 15 of them. The other five are extra credit. Now there's the bus so let's go class."

 

The class of roughly 30 filed out and down the stairs to the waiting bus. The trip to the museum was extremely talkative as each small group planned out their day. Lux and Amy teamed up with classmates Justin and Selena for their walk around. They carefully planned out their route to try and see everything before they had to return. Seeing some of the things was probably out of the question, but the answers to the questions were relatively simple and some of them even were filled out before they even arrived. Lux's past experience on the trip was a benefit, but there were still those that they needed to find.

 

"Ok class. We are here. Again, you are free to explore around on your own or you can stick with me." Ms. T laughed t her own joke. "I know none of you will do that. I will be walking around myself. If you finish early, then keep a hold of your papers since I will not collect them until we get back here. Remember we have to leave at 3:15. If you aren't back by that point, you will be paged so please don't give me a reason to completely embarrass you."

 

The whole class got a laugh at that one and they went off the bus and into the vast building complex.

* * *

 

In his office, Vel'Koz sensed something he hadn't sensed in while. Turning away from his computer, he looked down to see a group of school students running up the front steps. He got a look at all of them and he knew that at least one Guardian had come into her own. Now he just had to find her. Quickly floating out of his office, he decided that today was a day that might bring hope again. And either way, he needed to stretch his tentacles. Might as well hover around while he took a break from his latest research project.

* * *

 

On Runeterra's moon, another person was carefully watching the planet. Malzahar carefully studied the planet that had once been his home. The amount of summoner magic that was used to protect the planet was impressive, and would pose a massive problem. He would need a vast amount of energy to penetrate, something he could no longer conjure up. He would have to harvest energy from the planet and then corrupt it in order for it to be useful. Something that wouldn't be easy or fast, but it had to be done.

 

Looking over his numerous minions, he then turned to his five most powerful, Cho'Gath, Kha'Zix, Kog'Maw, Rek'Sai, and the Herald. Each powerful in its own right. Malzahar also had an ally on the planet but she had been forced into hiding because of her practice of dark magic, which was an attempt to disguise void magic. It failed horribly and his agent barely escaped with her life. Stripped of the few options available, he resolved to work with the energy plan for now until something better came along.

 

"Kha'Zix. Come forward." The giant bug with claws made its presence known.

 

"What is your will oh great prophet?"

 

"Take a voidling down to the planet and see if the Guardians are still around. I imagine they are not after that last fight, but we must be careful. And be weary. If you get caught, I might not be able to get you out. I cannot afford to lose what little void energy we have left. Our portals on other worlds are collapsing and if we cannot reopen this one, we have little hope. You must be silent and deadly."

 

"Of course oh great prophet. I will take one of my prized minion, and we will start collecting the energy we need. The people of this world still freely practice magic and expend energy on many fruitless things. Finding the energy won't be difficult."

 

"Also see if you can determine what became of Vel'Koz. But that is your secondary mission. I can still sense his presence, but he is hiding from me. And hiding something else. I do not have the strength to penetrate his veil for now, but eventually I will. Now go."

 

"Yes oh great prophet." The bug carefully moved out of the grand hall and was followed by an intimidating minion. Eventually reaching a portal, he focused his energy and managed to find a small hole in the summoner magic and slipped through.

* * *

 

On the surface, Vel'Koz felt a disturbance as he felt new void energy enter the complicated magic streams of Runeterra. Quickly floating through the museum, he found Nasus. Turning to see his boss, Nasus quickly excused himself from the group he was talking too and walked over. "What is it?"

 

"New void energy. I'm afraid our time has run out. I can feel Malzahar's presence. He can sense me, but not what I do, or where I am. For now. As you know, the summoner magic had holes in it for a reason, so that when they returned, we would know. However, we have yet to identify any of the new Guardians that are on this world and we cannot contact any other teams. I sensed one however arrived today in a group of school students. Try to see if you can get names and I will try and sense which one it is. Dorcha and Solas will have to guide the new one until they are ready to speak to the rest of us. I hope we are not too late."

 

Lux and her friends had finished their assignment before lunch and after looking at more exhibits, they moved into the new Star Guardian exhibit. Detailing the struggles of the Guardians and the short lived Void War, and their heroic sacrifices. Lux was drawn to the remaining artifacts while the rest were drawn to the stories and everything else. She couldn't help feel something about them that seemed familiar. But she shook it off as just her natural study of these heroines.

 

Vel'Koz had just about given up hope on finding that person he felt earlier, but as he rounded to the Star Guardian exhibit, he felt it strongly. Looking in, he did see the 4 teenagers, but one was separate from the group and closely examining the artifacts that were recovered after that last battle. Her natural abilities seemed be drawing them to her, and it wasn't lost on him. Vel'Koz decided to confirm his hypothesis but he had to do so carefully. Floating in he carefully made his presence known.

 

"Enjoying yourselves?" He immediately noticed the anxiety from the three, but the other was calm, almost peaceful. She reached out her hand, which he took. "I'll take that as a yes. It took many years to get permission for this exhibit and then the items to display in it. So I tend to be drawn here to see if everything is ok."

 

"It is. I can't believe this is all that is left though."

 

"There is more, Ms.?"

 

"Lux."

 

"Lux. But much if it has no relevance to the exhibit. Instead, it is more documents and wild theories. Things that I didn't feel had a place here. Most people do not care about such things. I have placed them in the Library for those who wish to read them, but I kept the artifacts here so people can see them. Most people who visit here seem to be drawn to these things so it seemed appropriate. Visually they are appealing and more interesting than stories but I have thought about putting some things here, but that is a topic for another day. Oh, you must forgive me. I tend to ramble. An old habit I never lost. Please do enjoy your stay."

 

The other three had calmed down and took his tentacle as he outstretched it to say goodbye. It was probably more shock than anything. As he turned to leave, Vel was careful get one last look Lux before departing. 'She's the one.' He thought to himself as he quickly made his way to the hidden tower in the heart of the library.

 

The Great Library had been build up over the course of the last century. It also contained a secret tower at its core. To the outside, it was Vel'Koz's residence, but in reality, he never entered the tower unless he had reason to. He actually lived in a rather large apartment on top of the museum. Why people seem to forget that is beyond him, but then his apartment blends in so naturally with the structure of the Library, that many forget about it after a short time.

 

He carefully entered the tower through a secret entrance in the Library and found the two he was looking for. The two creatures, which resembled the ever popular poros, named Dorcha and Solas. They were both observing the library looking for something. "Looking for something you two?"

 

They both pivoted on their small feet. "Well did you find the one?"

 

"Yes. A teenage girl named Lux. Which I assume is short for Luxanna. The only school today was Grove Middle School. I assume you can find her then?"

 

"Yes. We will set out immediately." The two hopped down and quickly speed out of the room. Even though they were poros, or at least resembled them, they were remarkably fast. Vel'Koz chucked to himself as he carefully went back the way he came and upon reaching the Library, found Lux studying the documents he indicated earlier with a curious expression on her face. He decided to not make his presence known this time however and carefully retreated to his office. Not before stopping by the circulation desk to tell them that if Lux wanted to check anything out, even reference, it was ok.

 

Lux for her part, didn't notice Vel'Koz carefully slip by as she pursued the documents and theories that he indicated. She wanted to take some of the volumes home for future study, but being reference books, she knew she couldn't, but there was no harm in asking. She came up to the circulation desk with the books to at least try.

 

"Can I help you miss?"

 

"I hope so. I noticed these books are reference, but is there a way I could check them out for a day? I can get them back tomorrow. I just don't have enough time to finish reading."

 

"Well they are reference books, but you can have them for a day. They will need to be back tomorrow before the Library close. Now do you have a school ID?"

 

Lux quickly rummaged around in her bag for her ID before handing it over. She was so happy that they would allow her to take these works home, even if it was just for a day. After they had run them through the check out process, she carefully placed them in her bag before checking her watch and realizing that she was going to be late, sprinted towards the main doors for the museum. Lux barely made it before her teacher.

 

"Ok class, now back on the bus. Let's go home." Lux carefully made her way on to the bus giving her assignment over in the process. On the ride home, it seems that everyone wanted to ask about their encounter with Vel'Koz, but she barely listened or responded, engrossed in the volumes she had little time to read. The trip home was relatively uneventful.

 

Arriving back at Grove, they all disembarked and as the day was already over, many just started walking home. Lux grabbed the books and along with Amy, headed towards the arcade. The two neglected to notice the poros tailing them. The two spent about an hour at the arcade before heading towards the shop Amy's mom owned where she sold jewelry. Inside it seemed like an average day. "Well there you two are, have a good day at the Museum?"

 

"Yeah we did mom. We even met Vel'Koz."

 

"Well he usually doesn't come out to the museum so consider that a treat. I hope you both enjoyed yourself. Amy you might want to change we have get going soon. Lux, as always the option to come is open."

 

"Thanks, but I have to get home before then. Nice seeing you again. See you tomorrow Amy." Lux quickly exited and hurried home.

 

"Have a good day honey?" Lux's mom asked as she arrived home.

 

"Yes. I'm going to be late tomorrow. They let me borrow a few books and I have to get them back tomorrow." Her mother just rolled her eyes.

 

"Lux you have to learn that you can't possibly read everything about everything."

 

"I can try" Lux said as she hurried up to her room.

 

"That's what I was afraid you would say. I guess I won't be seeing her for dinner then." She breathed a sigh her daughter disappeared up the stairs.

 

Lux threw her bag onto her bed and after changing out of her school uniform and into something more casual, she just sat at her desk with her headphones on listening to the latest popstar, and kept reading. She didn't even notice the two poros jump into her room from the tree outside. Dorcha and Solas carefully looked at their new charge, and after an hour of sitting on her bed, Lux finally removed her headset and turned around.

 

"What the…? Where did these two come from?" She asked as she first took notice of the two. "Well at least you two are cute, but how did you get in here?"

 

"Well from that tree." Lux stumbled back and back into her chair as Solas talked. Lux was not expecting that.

 

"Ok that did not just talk. Poros cannot talk. I've been studying too hard. I guess I need another trip to the mall."

 

"No you aren't imagining it. We can both talk and we are here to talk to you. Please don't call anyone it will just make this whole thing awkward." Dorcha talked this time. Lux just nodded but didn't say anything as she was still in shock.

 

"We would normally to this differently, but we can't. What do you know of the last team of Star Guardians on this planet?"

 

"That they all perished during that last fight when the portal was destroyed. I just saw the artifacts they recovered today. Oh what's going on?"

 

"Well Star Guardian powers, once they exit  a person, for whatever reason, usually transfer to another, but since the summoner magics used to keep Runeterra safe from the Void prevented that transfer, the powers remained here. Instead they found individuals could take on their power. One of them happens to be you."

 

"Normally, we would approach this more gently, and normally you would have the option to refuse, but we are out of time. Guardians are rarely even chosen by drafting, but the powers in this case came to rest in you for whatever reason Lux." The look on her face was becoming even more panicked as Dorcha continued. "The First Star saw to the creation of the universe, and the Star Guardians were to defend that universe. You have been chosen to continue that legacy here." Solas jumped and a small book appeared.

 

"Here is a contact. Guardians are required to sign, but since you are almost in a state of panic right now, please just listen. Normally if someone refused, we could transfer the power elsewhere, but we don't have that option. We can't even contact the rest of the teams to get help. Right now, it's just you. The Void has returned and they are here to reopen the portal to get access to the void again. The Veil is still thin here and that is why they have come back. Do you understand?"

 

Lux's brain raced at a million miles a minute. She quickly processed all of the information she was being told. "But why me? Why now?" she finally managed to say.

 

"We can't say." Dorcha said, relieved that she could stay something. "We know that all Guardians are called by destiny, and it seems that it is your turn. You can refuse, but know there won't be many left to defend this world against the void that is already here. We know that their Prophet, Malzahar needs energy from this world to reopen the portal, but it won't come easy. We need your help Lux. Please!"

 

Lux carefully picked up the book Solas has conjured from nowhere. Looking through the first page, which was the contract, she carefully read it. She had always felt something different, but never in her wildest dreams, well almost, did she imagine this. Knowing that Guardians once their time was done, would pass their power, but that usually came at a cost. She ssank back into her chair, and put her head in her hands.

 

"This is just too much. I'm just a kid. How can I do this?"

 

"You know there has always been something calling you haven't you?" Lux just nodded her head as Solas tried to calm her down. "That call is rare and if we had more time and options we would have done this differently." Solas said as Dorcha hopped onto Lux's lap and stared at her, trying to avoid the Sad Poro look.

 

"I know this is a lot to handle but we can't find the rest of the individuals right now. You are the only one we've managed to find."

 

Lux just stared at the Poro on her lap and closed her eyes again, and sank back into thought. Racing through her mind was what if she got hurt? How would she explain her absences? Her lack of commitment to other things? Then another thought reared its head. What if I don't and everyone I know dies because I did nothing when I could have? Could I live with myself?

 

"No. No I couldn't." She let that last thought escape her lips and Dorcha still on her lap became scared, but Lux just opened her eyes and smiled. Both the Poros smiled back. "I'll do it. If for nothing else, I'll at least look cool doing it."

 

"That's the spirit." Dorcha said. Lux grabbed the pen Solas held up in his paw and signed her name. Knowing she made a decision that she could never back down from, but she also never felt something before, and it coursed through her. A sense of right, of peace. She knew that destiny was something that you could run from, but never run away from. Some people discover theirs, others have it thrust upon them.

 

"Great. Now take this." Dorcha's turn to spin flip and she conjured what looked like a locket. "When you need to just hold it up and say 'Star Guardian Power Up.'" The rest will become apparent when you need it to be. Lux just nodded.

 

"So does everyone's outfit look like the ones I saw earlier, or are they all different?" Dorcha and Solas just dropped to the floor in disbelief. 'That was her question? After all of that? Oh brother.' Quickly regaining control over themselves, they quickly hopped back onto her bed.

  
"Everyone's is different. Hopefully we can at least have a few days to get some training in before something bad happens."

 

Lux nodded and secretly hoped she would also have some time, but that was quickly shattered.

 

"Lux?! Lux, honey are you home?!" Her mother's voice penetrated the house as the two Poros quickly jumped into a pile of Lux's poro plushies to blend in. Her bedroom door flung open as her mother came barging in. "Oh my word thank you." Her mother quickly grabbed her and hugged tight.

 

"Mom. Too tight!" She let go. "I haven't left. What did you think I went out? What's going on."

 

"It's on TV. Come." Lux made to follow, but quickly grabbed the Dorcha and Solas so they could watch as well. Carefully perching them on her shoulders, she sprinted after her mother. When she got downstairs she knew that time had really run out.

 

"Stay away from the park. No one knows what is going on but a giant creature is there. Please stay indoors until further notice is given."

 

"I just can't believe it." Lux carefully guided her mother onto the couch where she passed out.

 

"Well she never did take things like this well. Oh no, Amy's at the park!" Lux sprinted out the door with Solas and Dorcha. It seemed to take no time at all to reach the park near her house where every Wednesday a group of crafters got together to show off their work. Amy's mom lead the group and now she, like many others were down laying down in the middle of park. Standing over them were two creatures. A giant bug for lack of a better term, and a creature that resembled a snake but with arms, and a dog head. "Well I guess training will have to wait. No time like the present I guess."

 

"Star Guardian Power Up." In a brilliant flash of light, at least to her, she noticed the changes. Her legs were now encased in over the knee white boots; Her arms in gloves up to her elbows; a pink outfit with purple skirt with a bow right in the middle of her chest; a tiara on her head; and in her hands, a baton, also with a star on one end. Lux also noticed her hair had turned from its usual blonde to a bright pink.

 

"Well I didn't see that coming. It's all new, but somehow I know what I need to do."

 

"Careful Guardian, we don't know anything about it so be careful. Don't forget, that while you are this way, anything about your personal identity will be concealed."

 

"Right. Let's do this." Lux jumped off the ridge she was standing on and landed gracefully near the two creatures.

 

Kha'Zix was thinking that there wasn't anything that could go wrong. His first attack had been a complete success and had gathered some energy. Enough to keep Malzahar pacified for the moment, but he also sensed something. "No it can't be." Turning around he saw what was unmistakably a Star Guardian. Rage filled him to the point where he could barely contain it.

 

Lux meanwhile was terrified but somehow didn't let it slip. "I don' t know who you are, or where you came from, but this planet is not for harvesting. You give back the energy you stole or it is you that will be needing it. I will defend this planet from you, and all of those like you. I am a Star Guardian, sworn to defend the universe against all evil, and that means you."

 

"Well it seems the Guardians are lowing the bar on the recruitment meter. You are barely older than a child, and therefore this will be easy. Nagi, deal with this 'Guardian'."

 

The snake launched itself at Lux but she managed to dodge it, but only just. Throwing her arm around she let out a light pulse that surrounded the snake and then detonated. 'Well I need to work on that a bit.' She managed to land, but couldn't keep her balance and fell. Turning, the snake, clearly aggravated, launched a series of pins from its mouth. Lux thinking fast, spun the staff in front of her, creating a shield. Giving her enough time to regain her footing, she managed to see the bug thing was surprised and the snake clearly even more angry.

 

Lux moved first this time dodging to the left, she threw another pulse at the snake which encased it and held it in place. She turned and moved back towards the bug thing, throwing another pulse at it. It dodged and she managed to dodge its counter attack. Again barely.

 

Meanwhile the binding on the snake wore off and it quickly went on the attack, but in its haste, ran into its master. Lux thinking quickly, threw another pulse and it detonated hurting them both. They both threw more pins at her, and she again shielded the damage, but was still knocked backwards and down.

 

"Well it seems you know what you are doing after all. That or you are really lucky."

 

"Who cares. I'm still here aren't I?"

 

"Yes and that's a problem. Nagi finish this." The snake rushed again and Lux threw another binding but missed. She then tried to dodge, but was hit with the snake's tail. Lux hit the ground, hard, and for a second was stunned.

 

"Guardian get up." Solas' words quickly knocked Lux back into reality and she quickly dodged another snake attack. Again throwing out another binding pulse, she managed to snare the snake. 'Great now what do I do. I can't keep this up much longer.'

 

A thought quickly ran into her head. Getting to her feet, she drew her hands along her staff, focusing her power. The binding wore off, but it was too late. Lux took her staff and with the determination of someone who was quite desperate struck out and launched a beam of light. "Take this." She said as the beam encased the snake, rendering it dust.

 

"Dusted. Now for the other big ugly thing." She said turning to Kha'Zix. But the Voidling, who had clearly had enough of this jumped into a tree. Lux threw another binding at it, but missed.

 

"We will meet again guardian. Pray your luck holds out. Malzahar will not be happy with this development." With that, Kha'Zix used almost all of energy he had managed to gather to open a void portal back to Runeterra's moon and fled through it before Lux could throw another binding.

 

"Good job Guardian. Hopefully that will give them enough pause to find other Guardians. You did well for your first time." Dorcha said as she made her way over to Lux. Solas quickly nodding in agreement, but as a result, shaking his whole body. Lux just smiled.

 

"I got lucky today, I don't think I will be so lucky next time." Lux turned to the crafters and the others that had befallen the enemy and they slowly started waking up. Amy was the first, and got a good look at Lux before she hopped away back onto the ridge and into the trees.

 

Managing to get back home, she carefully snuck back into the house. Garen still wasn't home, and her mother was still passed out on the couch. Lux made her way to her room and Solas and Dorcha hopped from Lux's shoulders and onto her pile of poro plushies. She just turned to them and smiled. Then she turned and collapsed onto her bed, and instantly fell asleep.

 

Lux woke up a few hours later by her brother just checking in and seeing what was going on. "Mom saw the news, and passed out on the couch. I checked her a few times but I just stayed up here. What happened?" Garen retold what he saw on the news, a Star Guardian taking on the two voidlings and successfully winning against one while the other ran. He mentioned she seemed to know what she was doing, but had a lack of practical experience. He seemed to generally admire the person, and it took all Lux had to not smile.

 

She knew that she got lucky this time, but she knew that in the future she wouldn't be so lucky. The only reason she got away with it this time, it was because she surprised their opponents. She knew she had to train to get better and she knew she had allies, but would they show up before she got overwhelmed. Lux just pondered these thoughts as she looked up at the moon. She couldn't see the Void corruption that was present there, but she imagined it. She also somehow knew that eventually there would be a way to win.

 

She turned to Dorcha and Solas. "Well I guess this is just the beginning isn't it?"

 

"Sadly yes. Hopefully we can find the others soon."

 

"And hopefully before things get too much worse."

 

"Well I don't know about you two, but I need some sleep. I'm still exhausted. Good night."

* * *

 

On the moon, Malzahar was furious. Not at Kha'Zix but at the fact the Guardians had managed to rebuild themselves. Even if only one made an appearance, one was enough to derail his plans. Seething across the main room of the palace they had forced for the operation, the rest kept their distance. Even though Malzahar was new to the void compared to them, he still radiated with power, and now rage. And that rage was a powerful weapon.


	3. Time's Calling

          The laugh that permeated the air was both loud and annoying, but Lux had been like that all her life. She and Amy were just walking around the mall wasting time after school. Dorcha and Solas were playing the part of the new poro pets and were carefully hanging onto Lux's shoulders, and getting the occasional scratch from Amy and Lux. Neither of them were happy with how Lux spend her time, but she still needed to get a least a handle on her powers before she was told about Vel'Koz and the Tower. The two had spent only a few days with Lux at this point, but even though she was brave at the first encounter, her usual attitude had shown itself. Lux was brave, but also a bit of a klutz, and prone to freaking out.

 

           After walking out of their 3rd clothing store, Amy and Lux headed to the food court. "I'm so hungry. Let's get something to eat." Both almost sprinted to the food court, again the two Poros holding on for dear life and trying to keep up the cute poro act. After eating, Lux looked at her watch.

 

           "It's that late. Oh my mom is going to kill me. I need to get home. See you later Amy." She managed to get out as she sprinted towards the doors.

 

           "Lux. Always running off, and always not looking at her watch. Well everyone has their quirks."

* * *

 

           On Runeterra's moon, Malzahar glided back and forth across the main chamber. Seeing Kha'Zix across from him, he knew the creature was scared, but he also knew that punishing him wouldn't do anything. Kha'Zix was at a severe disadvantage against a Guardian, even if she was new. Malzahar knew in order to summon beasts and get through the barrier would need more energy, and if that meant taking it slow, then that is what was needed. Only Kha could penetrate the barrier at the moment, and his nature as an assassin would allow him the patience he would need.

 

           "Kha'Zix, I told you all before we started this mission if we encountered the Star Guardians, and you lost, as long as you returned with something, I would not punish. I intend to keep this vow. Only because you are useful to me. Cease to be useful and that will change. We need energy, and now it is more essential than ever. Even if only one Guardian has awakened, that is enough. Take another voidling and hatch a plot to get more energy."

 

           "Yes oh great prophet. I will do as you say." Inside, Kha was both terrified and relieved. He knew he would only get so many chances before Malzahar would either destroy him, or feed him to the Baron. Leaving the main chamber, he saw the Herald there.

 

           "So no punishment, well I hope you accomplish your mission quickly bug, or you will be squished."

 

           "Be quiet animal. You are only sentient because of the void. Take care or the Great Prophet will take it away." The Herald, who had massive arms, a great purprle body, with a small eye on the back of his body to see behind him, just got into the bug's face. Malzahar chose that exact moment to emerge from the main chamber.

 

           "Down you two. I don't need my minions fighting amongst themselves. Save it for the guardians." They broke apart and just glared at each other. "This bickering is pointless. You both have a job to do. Now GET TO IT!" Both of the two underlings went running, and Malzahar looked pleased. He always got a rise over setting the minions against each other. Only the powerful Cho'Gath had the courage to stand up to him, and rightly so. Cho was extremely intelligent, but he also had his limits in terms of power. Malzahar was unlimited in power potential, but was also young. They balanced each other out, but both were still a major threat to each other.

 

           Kha'Zix just slinked away to select another voidling for his mission while the Herald just walked away. Malzahar looked between them and knew that the fragile alliance they all shared was starting to break apart. They had their victories, but they had more defeats. 'If something isn't done soon, we are going to fall apart. That lone Guardian is just enough to cause problems. We have yet to also see what else transpired in my century of absence.'

 

           On Runeterra, Lux burst into her house and almost knocked her mother over. "You are late! And make sure to put those two back in their habitat. Why you carry them around with you is beyond me." Lux just hung her head as Garen snickered from the dining room. Lux just gave him a glare as she went up to your room. Reaching it, she dropped Dorcha and Solas on her bed and then collapsed into her chair.

* * *

 

           "I need a watch."

 

           "You have one, you just don't check it." Dorcha said with a glare. Lux turned to her, but decided it wasn't worth the fight. Ever since they came into her life, things went from manageable to stressful. Lux didn't hate her destiny, but she didn't like the fact it came right now. She knew the Void was back, and so did the population, hopefully, but many just seemed in denial. She knew there were more guardians out there, 4 more, but she had no idea how to find them.

 

           "You two sure you can't find them?"

 

           "We've tried and we just can't pin them down. I wish we could be more help. Guardians were never meant to operate alone unless times were desperate."

 

           "I thought they were?"

 

           Solas just hung his head. "Yes they are Lux but you can't let that discourage you."

 

           Lux for her part just turned back to her desk and began working on the homework she had before she had to go down for dinner. Both Dorcha and Solas just looked at each other. Both were extremely nervous. Lux was good, but she was still very much a newbie at this. She would normally have training, and an experienced member of the team to help her along. She had none of that.

 

           Dorcha then heard something, it sounded like tears and Lux trying to hide them. She hopped from the bed to her lap and saw that is exactly what was happening. Knowing that her touch would do little to help her emotions which were going all over the place, she just brushed her body up against Lux and after a second, she turned and smiled. She was still crying, but at least the sobbing had stopped. Solas hopped onto Lux's shoulder and just sat there. Lux sighed and went back to work.

 

           'I can't let these emotions rule my actions. But this is just too much.' Lux thought she would get help or at least a trainer, but she had none of that and for the moment, it looked like help wasn't coming.

 

           "Lux honey. Dinner." Her mother called up the stairs. Lux nodded and the two poros jumped off her lap and onto her bed. Lux got up and went downstairs. Both her parents were home and Garen was just waiting.

 

           "So any more news on what was a few days ago dad?"

 

           "No there isn't. All we know is that since a Star Guardian did make an appearance, there is enough suspicion that the Void has returned. However, since there hasn't been another attack in a few days, it might just be a one off."

 

           'Fat chance. They will be back.' Lux thought to herself. Her father was in the police department, but was also a bit of an optimist, which annoyed both her and Garen at times. But growing up in the time her parents did, it was easy to be an optimist. Garen just nodded while Lux just eyed what her mother brought in and immediately dug in. She mentioned a few things over dinner, but for the most part it was about Garen's upcoming sporting event. He was one of the stars on the team, and they looked to go all the way to the Regional Championship this year. Lux immediately tuned it out while she just watched the TV that she managed to turn on and watch the daily news.

 

           After dinner, Lux let her mother go to bed and she cleaned the plates while Garen put away the leftovers. "Go." He said suddenly.

 

           "What?"

 

           "Go study. I know you have that big test in two days. I'll finish. Just don't spread it around."

 

           Lux just smiled and nodded while walking out. She have her brother a quick shove as she passed, which he was expecting and stood firm. "Nice try." Lux just smiled again and went back upstairs with a plate that she snuck for Dorcha and Solas.

 

           "So who is this contact of yours? When do I meet him/her/it?"

 

           "Once you have a bit more control over your powers. Hopefully it should be soon. We can only hope that we don't get more powerful enemies in the meantime."

 

           Lux nodded and went back to her work. After a half hour, she couldn't concentrate anymore. "I'm going for a walk. Alone please" she added as they both got up. They both nodded, and went back to sleeping. Lux grabbed the plate she brought up, and after washing it downstairs, she told her parents she was going out, at which point her father just nodded.

 

           "Be careful young one." He said as she walked out. Lux turned, gave her signature peace sign over her eye, and walked out. Lux didn't see her father rolling his eyes, and chuckling. Lux walked out the door and after leaving her house, set about her usual route around her block. The night was unusually cold and she regretted not grabbing a sweater as she left. Lux reached into her pocket and drew out the locket she had been given, and looked at it again. 'So much power, yet so much responsibility.' She took a seat on a park bench overlooking the river that ran through the center of town and just watched it without really thinking.

 

           In the distance, she could hear that free concert by that popular mute DJ as it kicked up. She considered going, but decided against it. She was so lost in thought that for almost 30 minutes she didn't notice the music had gone until a police siren approaching knocker her out of her thoughts. She turned to see what was going on and was surprised that her father was pulling up alongside the park.

 

           "Lux get in please." She nodded and hopped into the passenger seat. Her father sped off again. "Text your mother that you are with me. It will calm her down. There was another attack in the park for that concert. I'm grateful you are ok since I know that is where you go to think. I hate brining you here but I can't take you home right now." Lux just nodded. 'Garen is going to be so jealous.' She thought to herself as the cruiser arrived at the scene. And it wasn't pretty.

 

           All around were people who had clearly had their energy drained, and in the middle was Vel'Koz. He hovered around taking readings on the people who had passed out. Even though he was a giant floating eye, she could tell he was nervous. Being a creature of the void who betrayed Malzahar, he probably had one big target on his head, err eye. He floated over to them as her father got out and she stood near the car with some other officers.

 

           "Detective. Good to see you again, I regret that we keep meeting under these terrible circumstances. And miss, it is good to see you again too. I hope you found your trip a few days ago inspiring, unlike this." He said as he took notice of Lux. "Wait she is your daughter?"

 

           "Yes. Luxanna." Lux rolled her eyes at her full name. She knew it was a old family name from her mother's side but she preferred her short name. "Lux please stay here while I look around. I will hopefully not be long, but at least I'll get you out of school tomorrow. Officer please watch her and make sure she doesn't run off." One of the patrol officers just nodded his head. Meanwhile Vel'Koz was still hovering near by watching Lux carefully. She was carefully observing what was going on and was flexing her fingers around a locket that was carefully placed on her hip. Vel decided that he couldn't keep his secret longer.

 

           "Miss I hope you don't mind, but I want to know what you are thinking about this."

 

           Lux, jostled from her thoughts, carefully chose her words. "It's horrible. What is going on do you know? My dad said it might be the void."

 

           "That is my suspicion as well. These are some of the methods that are used. Mainly to gather energy from a planet before invading it. It is likely that the amount of summoner magic encompassing this world is helping to hold them off but it won't be like that forever. Eventually they will force their way in. Hopefully we can stop them, but I'm not hopeful."

 

           'On a more personal note, what do you think is going on Guardian.' Lux stopped in her thoughts and turned to the giant floating eye.

 

           'If you wish to continue this conversation just think your thoughts. I can read them but I won't go deeper without your permission. Your surface thoughts is all I can read. Meaning what you are thinking at that moment.'

 

           Lux was taken off guard but decided to go along with it if it worked. 'Ok. So you are Dorcha's and Solas' contact?'

 

           'Correct. I learned a few things about the Guardians before I turned on my fellow voidlings. I have tried to find the new generation repeatedly but until you came to the museum the other day, I was almost lost hope.'

 

           'Why would you help us?'

 

           'They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and I have no respect for Malzahar. But I also have come to appreciate this world, and I still have much to learn about it. I have always valued knowledge, but I also previously acquired this knowledge at any cost. Now I have found that more conventional ways of collecting it  is actually more enjoyable. It is a challenge and that I have always enjoyed. Eventually I realized that the void and the universe could exist together, despite what the First Star thought. Do you know the story?'

 

           Lux took a quick look around, keeping the face of someone who is out of place. 'No I don't.'

 

           'I won't tell everything, but originally the void was a prison for those who sought to bring chaos for the sake of chaos to the universe. The First Star and the Star Guardians banished them to the void. There are some of us, like me, who were native to the void, and we were to control it. However that didn't last long, and once it was clear that the power of the First Star couldn't keep us contained we sought to ruin the universe. I have since changed my mind. I believe both can exist without destroying the other, but no other in the void sees it this way. This world, and many others has so much to learn and while many of them discover the same things, how they come about that is what has fascinated me. And that is why I oppose the void. Everyone deserves a chance to live, and that is something that most in the void, for one reason or another, do not believe.'

 

           Lux turned away from Vel, and he carefully withdrew from her mind allowing her to think. Internally Lux did feel his presence leave and she carefully considered his story. While it did seem to be all too convenient, it also was more consistent with his behavior over the last century. 'Well, I guess I just have to watch him.' Turning back to Vel she nodded.

 

           'Ok I can't say I completely trust you, but your story does make sense. But I will keep my eye on you.'

 

           'I would have expected nothing less and if you had trusted me completely I would have been worried. Either way, since your father said he would call you out of school, I hope you can get to my library tomorrow and I can show you what I have. I'm sure you can get away.' Lux just nodded. 'Good. Oh, this just got interesting.' Vel pointed and Lux turned. Walking towards the scene was Caitlyn, the Chief of Police. Behind her, was he Deputy Commander Vi. Turing back to the field, she saw her father turn and come over.

 

           "Chief. I have to agree with Vel'Koz here. This was definitely the void. They are back and probably trying to reopen the portal they established a century ago. I know that isn't what you wanted to hear, but that's what I have."

 

           "Well then that is what the story is. Not exactly what I was hoping for either. However, we all knew that someday they would return. I just wish we had better prepared."

           "Ma'am I believe we are pretty well prepared. Our recent advances in Hextech and Magictech are going to be doing damage. However, I have to point out that single Star Guardian might be of help. She probably could connect us with the others."

 

           "I don't particularly like that idea detective. Either way, we have to keep this story contained for the moment. Until we can get support from others, we can't fight this by ourselves. But we can fight them with the help of others. I just have to ask, what's with the girl?" Caitlyn took notice of Lux for probably the 10th time given how she worked. Lux just stood and blushed while Vel made an excuse to go back and investigate, not wanting her identity to be discovered.

 

           "She's my daughter Chief. She went for a walk earlier and since she normally walks here I was scared she was hit with this. I found and told her to stay with me for now. I know it isn't exactly regulation but I'd feel better knowing she was here."

 

           "Don't need to explain that Detective. I want you to remain here, I'll take her home. If that is ok with you?"

 

           "Yes ma'am thank you. Honey please go with the Chief and stay at home. I'll call you out tomorrow as it is late and this isn't something you can see and go the next day."

 

           "Yes dad." Lux walked forward and gave her father a hug before following Caitlyn back to her cruiser where she got into the passenger seat. Caitlyn put her rifle into the trunk, got into the driver's seat, and started head towards her home. Lux wondered how she knew where it was, but remembered that she probably just looked it up and given her knowledge of the city, knew the way.

 

           "Hopefully that won't become common. But I know someone your age was probably unnerved by what you just saw."

 

           "I have to say that it is scary and I am a bit afraid."

 

           "That is understandable, but you also have to realize that we can do much more than a century ago. Hopefully we can stop them before they become too powerful, but that will be interesting."

 

           "Chief, if you don't mind me asking, what is your problem with the Star Guardians?"

 

           Caitlyn took a quick look at Lux. "Well for someone your age, I guess that is a fair question. All those images of them in battle is probably something you can't really resist. I don't have an issue with them personally, but I have an issue with the fact they typically work alone and outside a joint chain of command. With the military and the police, we can work together, but they usually don't work like that. I know they are doing what they are supposed to do, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. If they help and if they continue to help, I won't ignore the help, but I also will keep an eye on them."

 

           Lux carefully considered her words. Knowing she had a duty to defend the world against the void, her actions had consequences and she had to be careful. Caitlyn was correct in the fact that usually Star Guardians worked alone and for good reason. They were powerful and for that reason, they tried to work alone because their actions usually endangered everyone else.

 

           "I guess that's fair." She finally said at least.

 

           "There are other reasons I have, but that is beyond you can probably understand at the moment. I know you probably hate hearing it, but it usually isn't something a kid can understand."

 

           "Try me."

 

           Caitlyn again took another look sideways, but smiled. "Very well. My biggest issue is that they are chosen at random, and usually aren't of the planet they are guarding. They don't care about the planet or its people, they only care for their mission, which we know has lead to issues in the past. I also hate how they mostly use girls close to your age or at least look like your age. Children have no place in a fight like that. No matter what training or powers they have. That isn't fair to them, and that isn't fair to the planet they guard. It gives girls like yourself delusions of grandeur and that is also dangerous. Understand?"

 

           "Mostly. I fail to see what is the problem with having them from other worlds. It prevents an emotional attachment that allows them to make the hard decisions if necessary though."

 

           "You are your father's daughter." Caitlyn said with a laugh. "He was right, you are smarter than you look, despite what you want others to believe. I guess that is a good point, but I still don't like it. I guess we have to agree to disagree?"

 

           "I guess. But perhaps they won't be needed."

 

           "On that we agree. Especially now that we are aware. Ah here we are." They pulled up alongside the house and Lux got out and walked inside. Only once the door closed did she hear Caitlyn move off. Probably wanting to make sure she got inside safely. Lux carefully went up to her room and noticed the two she wanted to see asleep.

 

           "Dorcha, Solas wake up." She said poking the two. They both quickly shook themselves awake.

 

           "Enjoy your walk." Dorcha said with a yawn.

 

           "Well if you discount the void attack, yes." That got their attention.

 

           "What?! Where?!" They said together.

 

           "At the park where that concert was being held. Whoever it was got away with all of the energy of those there."

 

           "This is bad news. If they are going to attack so openly like that, it means they are desperate for energy. We have to keep up our guard."

 

           "Also I asked the Chief something and I have to ask you. Is the reason most Guardians are not from their native world is because of the emotional attachment?"

 

           Both of them turned to each other. "Well yes, that is the usual reason. Also more convenience. Guardians are sent where they are needed and while some do come the native world, most don't. Usually only if the team needs another, or the situation, like ours, is desperate." Solas looked into Lux's eyes and saw understanding.

 

           "Well it does make sense. Also I ran into your contact."

 

           "What? Oh he was probably there investigating wasn't he?"

 

           "Yes. He wants me to come to the library tomorrow."

 

           "That's good. We can show you all of the things that you can use to train and other things. Hopefully we can also find the other guardians soon. But you should probably get some sleep. You do have school in a few hours."

 

           "Dad said he'd call me out because of how late it is and how long I was there."

 

           "Well isn't that nice." Lux carefully climbed into bed after changing and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

 

           On Runeterra's moon, Malzahar was pleased. "Excellent work Kha'Zix. This is a lot of energy, but it isn't enough. We need more. These large scale attacks are doing to draw attention before too long, and we know the people down there will fight back. We have to be careful. But the energy you managed to get will allow you to bring a more powerful minion with you. Choose carefully."

 

           "Yes oh great prophet." Kha'Zix was careful to check and chose Naseni, a large crab like creature. "Come." And he quickly followed. Choosing a somewhat larger hole to get through, Kha'Zix was about ready to go, but realized attacking twice in one night would lead to his getting caught. "We will wait for morning."

* * *

 

           The following morning Lux found herself rising later because her father called her out because of the lateness of she finally got home. Lux quickly remembering Vel's invitation, quickly dressed and headed downstairs. With the rest of her family at work or school, Lux only found a note from her mom telling her to enjoy her day off and to at least do something productive. If possible. Lux just smiled, grabbed her bag, and  after Dorcha and Solas jumped on, headed towards the Library.

 

           Arriving, she was quickly directed to Vel's office. "Ah Lux thank you for coming. I know what has been attacking, and what they are trying to do. Please come with me." Lux followed Vel out of his office and into a storeroom. Confused, she just trusted Vel to know where he was going. "What better place to hide a secret facility, and its entrance in plain sight." Vel pushed a series of what she originally thought were poorly placed bricks, which then the whole wall reseeded into a passageway. Lux's face was all Vel needed. "Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight. Come."

 

           Lux followed, now more curious than ever. Dorcha and Solas just continued to sit and relax. After clearing the passageway, they emerged into a large round room, that she could only assume was near the corner of the Library. "Officially this is my research center, but that is actually underneath the Museum. Here is where I, with the limited knowledge I had obtained, built a full Star Guardian base. Again I'm sure it isn't perfect, but I did my best. Also take this." He handed Lux what looked like a pen. "Using this, draw an outline around a doorway, anywhere, and you can teleport here. You can then go back using the same method. It can also store locations inside if you wish to use it for multiple locations."

 

           Lux just nodded. It made sense, and would allow her to practice while pretending to be in her room. "This is actually quite interesting. Magic I'm assuming?"

          

           "A very precise bit of magic actually. It took a few tries to get it right."

 

           "What happened to the other tries."

 

           "Remember those news stories about 10 years ago of explosions from the museum?" Lux nodded.  She remembered reading about them. "That. They kind of blew up. Oh well. Live and learn I suppose. It was also a great challenge, another reason I hate the void and their all consuming spirit. Both realms have their good and bad, but they can live together. Anyway this lower level is where you can plan missions and coordinate with the others, once we find them. The second level is a large training room where you can practice your powers. The third level is a private area which I will not enter, and haven't since I built it. It is more of a rest area for you and the other Guardians for after missions. Feel free to look around. When you use the pen, you will emerge from the door which we entered from. There is an emergency escape over here," Vel lead her towards a rug. Underneath was a trap door that clearly lead outside the museum. "It has two exits, one into the museum in the history section. The second is outside on the east side near the bushes."

 

           Lux nodded again. "Thanks I'll look around then."

 

           "I take my leave then. Let me know if you need anything. I haven't had time to stock the kitchen over there yet, but I will soon." Vel gave a quick bow and left. Lux just walked around while Dorcha and Solas just bounced around on the counters on the lower level.

 

           'This is amazing.' The second level was clearly for practicing. Reinforced walls. High ceiling, and a first aid station in the corner. Looking back at the pen. She was happy that it was a way she could slip in and out unnoticed by her family. Well for now at least. Looking through the third floor, there were six separate rooms each sparsely decorated. 'Personalization will come later.' She picked out the room with an overview of the nearby river, and heading back downstairs, she saw the two looking at her.

 

           "Enjoyable?"

          

           "I can't believe this. Is this common?"

 

           "A base like this? Yes actually. Most teams have a base like this somewhere on their world. The pen this is normally passed down, but the ones the last team had were damaged beyond repair after that last battle."

          

           "Well I'm going to do some training before I head over to the mall." Lux skipped upstairs while Dorcha just shook.

 

           "Give it time she will take it seriously someday." And noticed Solas taking a nap. "Well I guess that is a good idea." She curled up and went to sleep.

 

           "Star Guardian Power Up." The transformation was complete and Lux again was amazed at what she was wearing and the power that came with it. She trained for the next hour and a half with her powers and was getting better at accuracy. Finally, somewhat exhausted, she called it quits. "Power down."

 

           Returning to her normal appearance, she went back downstairs and saw her two companions sleeping. "Ok let's go" she said poking the two awake.

 

           "How long as it been?" Solas asked as he finally shook off the sleepiness.

 

           "About an hour and a half." Both the poros looked at each other.

 

           "I'm impressed, I thought it would just be a half hour."

 

           "Well it was also close to noon and I didn't want to go to the mall with all those noontime shoppers. So let's go." She paused after grabbing her bag, and they both jumped on. Carefully making her way down the passageway and back into the storeroom, she noticed the bricks flashed in the order needed to reunlock them as she was leaving.

 

           "They will only flash for guardians. The rest of us have to memorize that sequence" Dorcha said as Lux looked a little confused.

 

           "Well that's good." Lux then carefully made her way out of the storage room, and after waving to Vel on her way out, made her way to the mall.

 

           The mall however was still packed, but she didn't care. Lux made her way around and just did what any girl on a day off would do, enjoy the fact that she didn't have to go to school because of what happened. And that brought it back for her. Sitting down onto a bench on the second floor, she just sat there thinking that if she hadn't been so absorbed in her thoughts, she might have been able to stop it.

 

           "Don't blame yourself for what happened last night. Things like that are going to happen from time to time. You can't be everywhere. If you blame yourself for everything like that, you will burn out quickly." Dorcha quickly jumped onto her shoulder.

 

           "I know but it still doesn’t make me feel better." Lux responded with a hushed tone. "Also doesn't mean I have to like it."

 

           "No you don't, but know you will do better next time." Lux just smiled and grabbed her bags again. She was almost out when she heard a scream. Turning, she quickly saw why. The bug was back.

 

           "Your energy will be mine." And from out of her view, a large crab creature emerged   and started grabbing people.

 

           "Can I just go shopping without someone going crazy?" Lux quickly bolted for a secluded location, and with the confusion of everyone running for the exits, her movements were largely concealed. Eventually reaching a place where no one else was, she grabbed the locket off her hip and once again held it up. "Star Guardian Power Up."

 

           In the middle of the mall, Kha'Zix and Naseni stood over the people drained of energy. "Excellent everything is going as planned. We will be out of here before anyone else shows."

 

           "Not so fast." Kha'Zix groaned as he turned to see a Star Guardian standing on the second floor looking over them.

 

           "Can't you take a hint and leave me alone?"

 

           "Not really. As long as you seek to spread chaos, I will be here to stop you. I am a Star Guardian, sworn to protect the universe against all those who wish to throw it into chaos. And that means you."

 

           "Finish her." Naseni lunged out at Lux but she threw a binding and while Kha'Zix dodged, Naseni wasn't so lucky. Hit fully with the binding, it did a number on the voidling. Lux followed up quickly with a blast of light from her baton before throwing with a Singularity. Naseni, already hurting from the binding tried to dodge the Singularity, and while mostly successful, it still took damage. Enraged, Naseni burst through the glass at the top of the mall and onto the room. Lux used her barrier to protect those in the food court from the glass before jumping up and joining them.

 

           As soon as she landed on the room, Kha'Zix, enraged threw out his spikes at Lux, and while she did dodge, she still took a few in the leg. Tumbling behind an air conditioning unit, she quickly checked her leg, and while it hurt, it could have been worse. Jumping up over the unit, she blasted a singularity towards the two and while they both dodged, Kha'Zix missed the follow up binding. Lux threw a light bolt at him before throwing another singularity at Naseni. This time it hit, and hit hard. Lux tried to follow up but Kha'Zix threw another series of spikes and this time they hit Lux hard.

 

           Sent rolling across the roof, she struggled to get up. "Well seems you keep forgetting that there are three of us up here. And now, I'm going to finish you off and then nothing will stand between us and that portal." Lux just turned her head and just as Kha'Zix jumped, she threw her barrier, but instead of bouncing off it, Kha went flying as he was hit by an energy ball.

 

           Lux quickly turned her head around and saw someone standing there. "Now there are four. Now how about you pick on someone your own size."

 

           "With pleasure." Kha'Zix was clearly not expecting the weapon he used to blast that energy ball to then turn into a massive hammer. Kha, caught off guard again was knocked back and into a small building on the roof, which was now going to need a new door.

 

           "You ok?" The mysterious figure asked as he helped Lux to her feet. She took a quick look at him. Dressed in a full suit, a tuxedo really, his hammer/cannon/whatever on his back for the moment, she decided that friends came in all shapes and sizes, and while he wasn't a Guardian, for obvious reasons, he clearly didn’t like the void and for the moment, that was enough.

 

           "Yes. I'm fine. Thanks."

 

           "No problem Guardian. This is your fight, but I also have a personal issue with these people. So which do you want?" Lux turned and locked eyes on Kha.

 

           "I'll take the bug." The figure just nodded. They quickly jumped back into the fight with another energy ball and a binding. Kha, still reeling from the earlier hits, was still getting to his feet, and was immediately hit with the binding, a bolt, a Singularity, then another bolt. Furious, he quickly opened a void portal and disappeared. Lux stopping herself on the roof, quickly repositioned and threw another binding at the crab. Hitting she threw another bolt, before it dodged the singularity. Her new found ally however quickly hit it with his hammer and it flew into the center of the roof.

 

           "Finish it." Lux was all too happy to comply. Grabbing her staff, she ran her hand along it focusing her power, then threw it up in front of her, where it hovered briefly spinning before she focused her power and threw out a powerful beam of light. "Final Spark." The beam once again disintegrated the voidling into dust. Dropping back to the roof, Lux carefully got to her feet, not wanting to show weakness, or how hurt she was.

 

           "Thanks. I didn't get your name."

           "Debonair. For now. Good luck Guardian. I'm sure we will see each other again soon." He quickly disappeared as he jumped off the roof. Lux just looked but quickly lost him in the mass of people that were below. She could clearly see Caitlyn trying to direct traffic out of the mall and she decided to make her escape before she could be detained. Hopping back into the mall, she found Dorcha and Solas were she left her bags.

 

           "Well that was interesting." Dorcha said as Lux powered down and grabbed her bags, before deciding it was probably better to wait for the police to find her. She saw that people in her area were still out cold, so she just hid behind the structure she used to transform. "We need to keep an eye on this person, but for now, they seem to be a friend."

 

           "Don't trust anyone though. He could have other motives." Solas piped up. Lux just looked between the two.

 

           "I know that, but for now, he's a friend." Lux carefully hid back while the police finally made their way into  the part where she was "hiding".

 

           "Is there anyone here awake?" Vi's voice was unmistakable. Lux carefully stood up trying to keep up the perception that she survived by hiding behind the barrier to a shop that was being renovated. Vi quickly walked over to check. "You ok? You've seen two of these in two days. That can't be a good thing for someone your age." Lux quickly snapped her face to one of annoyance, before turning back into the "scared teenager" look. She carefully walked out with one of the officers, and after leaving she saw her father again just nod to her after seeing she was safe, and Vel'Koz was just arriving.

 

           'Good job.' He managed to say to her privately while she carefully walked home with Dorcha and Solas on her shoulders. Garen was in the parking lot clearly dropping off their father.

 

           "Hey sis. Want a lift back home. If I can get out of here that is?" For once, Lux just nodded, keeping her face, she made her way over. Going to his car, she made to get into the passenger seat, but saw it was occupied. She got in the back behind her brother instead. "Lux this is Jayce. He just transferred here a few weeks ago."

 

          "Nice to meet you." Lux said as she buckled up and Garen managed to make his way out of the traffic mess. Lux carefully set her bag down and Dorcha and Solas gave her a quickly look, which she nodded. It seems that Jayce was the one who helped her earlier. While he could recognize him, he couldn't recognize her. There was some relief there but it still made her uneasy. Not that she showed it. Lux decided to just stare out the window until they got home.

 

          'Things were interesting today, but they will only get worse from here.' She thought to herself as they drove through the city. 'Time is my enemy now, and I hope he can be generous.'


	4. Podcast Barrage

          "That ends this day's podcast. Tune in tomorrow for another chance to our prize and get your story read live on the air."

 

           Lux reached over to her mouse and ended the cast and brought up another. Bent over her desk, one could easily mistake her for sleeping, but she was nursing a slight back injury that was officially from gym class. It was in fact it was from her training where she landed funny. It wasn't bad, but this was the only way it didn't cause a slight irritation that drove her crazy.

 

           "I warned you didn't I?"

           "Solas. Just leave it already." Dorcha cut her partner off as he attempted to remind Lux again about his advice. Lux rolled her eyes and shook her head. Getting up she again tried to stretch it out, but it was futile. Some things just were an issue and needed a night of sleep before they worked themselves out.

 

           "I'm going to bed. This is just annoying and I'm not getting work done here." Lux changed quickly and climbed into bed. Dorcha settled down next to her, while eyeing Solas who wisely stayed near the foot of the bed tonight.

* * *

 

           "Kha'Zix, your defeat the other day was a product of the unexpected and incompetence. You not only underestimated the Guardian, you underestimated the planet again. Your failures will start adding up. Take care that stack doesn’t get too high. Now what is your new plan?"

 

           "Oh great prophet. I admit I made a mistake so I have changed my strategy. Humans waste so much energy it is hilarious. Especially on the emotion of love."

 

           "Yes that is a powerful emotion. Don't underestimate it. People can do crazy things when love is involved."

 

           "That I have become aware of. Black Widow show yourself."

 

           "You called." A large hybrid of a spider and human emerged. "I have already selected tomorrow's victim master."

 

           "Victim? As in one?"

 

           "Yes oh great prophet. I have moved to attacking a single target at a time. Hopefully no one will be able to link the dots before I get the energy that I want."

 

           "Take care Kha'Zix. People will notice sooner or later, and given everything, sooner. Don't overdo it."

 

           "Of course." Kha'Zix left the main hall followed by his new minion.

 

           "Why do I have a bad feeling this will end in failure. Love is one of the most powerful emotions. A good source of energy, but a horror to deal with." A shiver ran down Malzahar's spine as he thought about it. Kha'Zix carefully selected a hole to slip back through. A hole that was left there on purpose.

* * *

 

           Lux sat bolt upright in bed. The pain her back gone, but she was aware of something. A dark feeling that she couldn't shake. Carefully, eyeing Solas and Dorcha, who were both still fast asleep, she turned to the window and looked out it. Feeling a sense of dread, she knew her next fight would be sooner rather than later. Lux carefully lay back down after grabbing Solas and placing him closer and away from her feet.

 

           The following morning, Lux actually got to school early and now were waiting for their teacher Ms. Teller to show up. "Where is she? She's normally never late, and if she is it isn't by this much."

 

           Lux and Amy both turned towards the door and it still didn't open. "So did you see that new video game at the arcade?"

 

           Lux nodded. She was just waiting for the day to end in order to play it. Amy started going on about it when the door finally opened. Ms. Teller almost fell over herself as she stumbled into the room. A few students in the front row got to their feet as they attempted to help her into her desk. Amy quickly got up and headed out of the room, presumably to get the principal. Ms. Teller just stumbled to her desk with help, and then collapsed.

 

           Lux carefully moved to the window to keep an eye outside and out of the corner of her eye noticed a flicker of light and immediately felt a sense of dread. 'Great here we go again.' The door opened again jolting Lux from her thoughts and in rushed the principal along with the school nurse. After checking to see if Ms. Teller was ok, they quickly called for an ambulance. Lux snuck close enough to hear what was being said.

 

           "She isn't drunk, and for that level of exhaustion it would be evident for a few days. People just don't drop off like that. Even with no sleep the night before."

 

           "Agreed. Is it something that could pass to the students?"

 

           "I don't think so. But then I don't know what this is." Lux already was running through her thoughts and she didn't like where they were going.

 

           'People can drop off like that if they have their energy drained.' Lux made a quick escape from the class when the ambulance arrived and she made her way to the roof where Dorcha and Solas were getting their usual morning nap. Lux quickly poked them both awake.

 

           "I need you two to see something quickly." They both nodded and hopped onto her shoulders. Lux made her way back down quickly to the room where Ms. Teller was finally about to be wheeled out. It was only then did she notice the bracelet on Ms. Teller's wrist. She normally didn't wear jewelry so it was a surprise to see, especially when it did look so expensive. Dorcha got a quick look at it and after turning her body to Lux and Solas they all knew that is what was responsible. The real question is where it was coming from.

 

           Lux's class was put into sub mode, which meant nothing got done and everyone just did homework. Lux made quick work of her homework and then just sat and talked to Amy about the new podcast that had grabbed everyone's attention.

 

           "I know it is so amazing. Just a short story based on a few things and submit it by midnight. I've already written for today so hopefully I'll win. I don't know what the prize is but they don't ask anything apart from where the prize can be sent. Well I guess I'll see." The rest of the class was discussing what they prizes could possibly be. Despite the show being new, it seemed to have a lot of funding because the prizes were being given out daily.

 

           Lux just sat back in her chair after a while, noting that the conversation had turned to something completely irrelevant and she was just in thought. She kept getting that feeling that the Void was involved in this somehow, but she couldn't immediately think of a reason why they switch tactics so quickly. "Hey Lux."

 

           Amy's voice knocked her out of her thoughts. "Yeah what?"

 

           "Want to go shopping with us today or not?"

 

           "Sure." With that the final bell rang and they all headed over to the mall. The trip was both short and uneventful as they all quickly were reminded of the homework they neglected to do during the sub. Lux made like she didn't do it either but made a detour to the Library. Using the secret entrance, she made her way to the tower and once inside, found Vel hovering over a table with a bracelet.

 

           "Ah Guardian, I trust your day was productive?"

 

           "Well our teacher just collapsed and with a sub, not much got done. What is that? Hey that looks like the bracelet that my teacher was wearing."

 

           "Because it probably is similar. This was taken from someone who yesterday collapsed on the job. It has traces of void energy, but not much. At least not anymore. It seemed like this was a once use item. Intended to gather a large amount of energy  quickly and then become ordinary. A very different tactic, but a familiar one."

 

           "Black Widow. She is like the Spider God of legend, which is actually where I got the idea for her creation. Please do me a favor, when you find her, please do make sure she meets a fitting end."

 

           "I will. I'm going upstairs for a bit." Vel nodded and went back to his research. Upstairs Lux looked around and then just sat down. She didn't feel like training but instead went to the third floor and decided to take a brief nap before going back home. Awaking an hour later, Lux came back down to find Vel still fawning over the bracelet.

 

           "Enjoy your nap?"

 

           "Yes. How did you…"

 

           "I didn't hear any crashes from the second floor. So I hypothesized you either went back into the Library through the entrance on the third floor, or you took a nap. I decided to go with nap based on your walk in here. You were clearly tired."

 

           "Good guess."

          

           "No a guess Lux, just an educated…well I guess a guess nonetheless. Anyway I've learned a few things. I know who you are facing. He looked different a century ago so that is why I didn't recognize him at first. His name is Kha'Zix. He seeks perfect through evolution, even to an extreme. He is an assassin and as such is cunning, patient, and rarely underestimates his foes. It is curious why he has been defeated by you twice. Especially considering your inexperience. Perhaps I have overestimated his abilities or there is another possibility."

 

           "He's under pressure to produce results and as such is making mistakes?"

 

           "Yes actually. Nice deduction. Clearly the void needs energy and maybe I've underestimated how much they need and how quickly. Since we are cut off from a large part of the galaxy, we can't determine how bad they are and how much they have won or lost. But if they are doing this, then perhaps we have more hope than I originally thought."

 

           "I don't understand."

 

           "If Malzahar is as desperate as I think he is, he will get angry quickly and will make mistakes. It is those mistakes we have to capitalize on. Hopefully we can trust that one who helped you a few days ago. However I do believe you need to get home."

 

           Lux looked at her watch and quickly bolted out the door. Vel laughed to himself and turned back to the bracelet. It had no void energy left. Clearly a onetime use item, he still knew that leaving it in the tower was a bad idea. He quickly placed it in the container it came in and returned it to the officer at the front desk. He then went back to his office and pondered what was happening.

 

           Lux for her part carefully made her way back home and managed to sneak in and past her mother until her brother stood at the top of the stairs. "Late again."

 

           "And mom didn't notice?"

 

           "Nope. She's cooking a special dinner so you know how she gets. Lux as much as you annoy me to death, there is something different about you and I don’t like it. If you continue doing this I'm going to have keep going out to find you."

 

           "Great. Glad I know I'm still annoying you." Lux forced her way past her brother and into her room. Dorcha and Solas jumped off her pack and onto her bed. Lux sat at her desk and after checking her computer, found a new podcast up from that new channel. Immediately starting it, she placed her headphones down and just turned it to her speakers.

 

           "Good day people. It is that time again. We continue to get letters every hour and after readying them, we chose this one. Today's author is Amy." Lux immediately turned to her computer and listened intently. She noticed immediately that it was Amy's writing style and something fell into the pit of her stomach. Dorcha seemed to take notice of Lux's attention and hopped onto her desk to listen too.

 

           "This podcast is still new right?" Lux nodded in reply while still listening. "Curious that it has this kind of following already isn't it?"

 

           "It's love Dorcha. People will always be drawn to love. Especially when it is a story. They can put themselves into it. It doesn't have to make sense. It just has to just be there."

 

           "Still I'm worried. Something seems off."

 

           "I agree." Solas hopped up to join them. "This is just a little too popular for something so new. I know it happens, especially with free stuff, but still I've never seen an ad on their cast or anything else."

 

           "Good point." Lux turned her head in thought and it was a few minutes before she noticed that the cast had ended.

 

           "If Amy has something tomorrow then I guess we will know and we'll do something about it then. But for now, there really isn't much we can do right? We can't even figure out where they are uploading it from."

 

           "True. I'll work on that." Dorcha hopped over the keyboard and Lux was amazed on how she worked the keys. For her part, Lux went back to her work and couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

 

           After eating dinner, Lux came back up only to find Dorcha still working, but she seemed determined. Solas was sitting on top of her textbook just watching. "She still at it?"

 

           "Yes. This isn't good. She gets like this she won't stop. I've seen her pass out like this before." Lux just looked concerned, but knew enough about Dorcha already to not get in her way. Instead, she changed into her pajamas and went to bed which was surprising with the amount of typing that Dorcha was still doing. Lux and Solas quickly drifted off to sleep while Dorcha kept searching. Finally she found her answer, and quickly turning back saw Lux and Solas asleep.

 

           'Well perhaps waiting until morning wouldn't hurt, especially since there is little than can be done on it tonight.' Dorcha leaped from the desk onto Lux's bed and finally went to sleep.

 

           The following morning saw Lux in another panic as she forgot to set the alarm and was running trying to get out. Garen just rolled his eyes at his sister as she ran out the door. She was just not late enough where she could still run it. Dorcha and Solas meanwhile were having a nice time this morning because as soon as they realized Lux was late, they both hopped into her backpack rather than trying to ride on her shoulders. Lux didn't know, but she knew that either way, she'd see them at school so she didn't worry about it much.

 

           Sprinting through the front door, Lux quickly sprinted into her seat before the bell rang. Collapsing at her desk, she managed to catch her breath before the sub walked in. Except it wasn't an ordinary sub. Headmistress Fiora walked through the door and quickly turned to the class. There was a collective gulp.

 

           "Now Ms. Teller is still out and will be for the rest of the day. So I'm going to be your sub. Mainly because I couldn't find one on short notice. Ms. Teller is doing well and will be back tomorrow. So attendance."

 

           The headmistress quickly ran through the list pausing to see that each student was raising their hand. Lux barely got her hand up before drifting off.

 

           "Well now that everyone is here, for the day you will have a self study class. The homework is on this sheet so it is due tomorrow. Because I have other duties to attend to, mainly finding you a sub,  will have to trust you all that you can behave and not destroy the school. I'll return at random intervals to see if you are keeping to that."

 

           And with that, Fiora walked out, closing the door behind her. With a free study day, the class quickly forgot about the homework, save for a few who decided to do it and then talk. Everyone however was gathered around Amy as she opened the box she got for getting her story on the podcast yesterday. Lux was just finishing her work when Amy got it open. Pulling out a bracelet very similar to Ms. Teller's from the other day, Lux took notice immediately. Before she could stop Amy however, she put it on and after a few seconds, passed out. A few of the others who tried to help her also passed out, which caused everyone to move away and a classmate to run and get Fiora.

 

           In just a few minutes, Lux was riding in the back of an Ambulance to the hospital with Amy. The headmistress had given her permission and had notified her parents. Her father would be meeting her at the hospital along with Amy's mother. When they arrived, Vel'Koz was also there and quickly took the bracelet off Amy's wrist. He examined it quickly and then put it in a special container.

 

           'Your friend will be ok. This got more energy than they were expecting however. Stay on watch Guardian.' Vel was moving away as he spoke to Lux but she quickly got the message and nodded ever so slightly so Vel would see. She followed Amy's mother inside and into a ward where everyone who was affected by the recent attacks was being treated. At most, they were here for a few days while they recovered and then were sent home. Lux took note and saw there were still a few from days ago.

 

           "Thank you again Lux for coming, but please go home. I'm sure Amy will be fine. I don't want you to get in trouble." Lux turned to Amy's mom and just nodded. Grabbing her bag, she left the room while she noticed Solas slip out and hurry under the bed to keep an eye on Amy and listen to any conversations that may come up. Lux nodded and hugged her father on her way out, but instead of hurrying home, she detoured to the Library and entering the tower, saw it empty save for a note telling Lux to come to the main labs underneath the Library. Lux reentered the Library and after flagging down Nasus, who got her into the tunnel, entered the main labs where Vel did most of his work.

 

           "I see you got the message. How is your friend doing?"

 

           "Energy drained. She'll be out of it for at least a day they said. What is causing this?"

 

           "These bracelets. They are infused with Void energy to collect energy from those around it and once it is full, or drained everything in the immediate vicinity, they transmit and go dead. At that point they are nothing more or less than cheap, knock off jewelry."

 

           Dorcha quickly hopped out of Lux's bag to the counter. "Last night I managed to find where those transmissions were coming from. They are being uploaded from a local radio station using its internet connection. Likely someone there knows what is going on."

 

           "Then you have to get into the station and find out Guardian. And do so quickly. Least we rn out of time." Lux nodded but then her face fell.

 

           "And how exactly am I supposed to do that? I can't exactly go walking in like this. Someone is going to notice me."

 

           "I think I might have an answer to that question." Dorcha ran into the other room and came back with what looked like a bracelet. Lux looked at it carefully and it was different. It had stars on it like on her Star Guardian outfit. "This will allow you to disguise yourself temporarily. But it does have limitations, time. It will only work for a short time but hopefully it should be long enough for you to accomplish what you need to. It always seems to have a somewhat random time frame."

 

           "Great so go into a building with hostile aliens and hope the power that keeps me from being recognized doesn't give out before I find what I'm looking for?"

 

           "Pretty much." Dorcha smiled while Lux let her head fall into the table in front of her, rolling her eyes while doing it. "Oh don't worry about it that much. I'm sure there will be enough time. And anyway, there will be an indicator when it is about to give out." Lux just hit her head again on the table. Vel was silently watching and laughing to himself.

 

           'She means well.'

 

           "It doesn't mean it helps" was all Lux could get out as Dorcha laughed a bit. "You two are coming with me so wipe those looks off your faces." Dorcha stopped laughing immediately and her face fell. Now it was Vel's turn to laugh and he went into the other room. Lux was sure if he was human or a yordle, he would be rolling on the floor. She grabbed the two poros and headed out.

 

           Lux quickly made her way across town and made her way to the radio station. Once there she noticed the security around and while it would have been easy to slip in to a degree, she decided to test her new gadget. Running her finger across the bracelet, she said "Masking Bracelet, transform me into a radio executive." With a flash, Lux truly looked the part, and noticing Dorcha trying to slip away, she grabbed the poro and Lux placed her on her shoulder. "You're not getting away that easily." The look on Dorcha's face gave Lux all the satisfaction she needed.

 

           Making her way into the station, no one seemed to question her and Lux took that as the power was doing its job. She quickly asked the receptionist about the podcast and she directed Lux to the fourth floor. Lux hopped into the elevator and upon arriving at the right floor, she made her way quietly off the elevator. She looked around and after entering a somewhat large room, she saw something that sent a shiver up her spine. The entire crew seemed to be asleep, their energy drained. In the middle of the room, was Kha'Zix and a half spider half human…thing.

 

           Lux quickly dived behind a desk, and listened. "Excellent Widow. This is going well. Hopefully this next victim will bring in the same amount of energy that the last did."

 

           "Master, the previous one got more people than the single. So it is likely that someone took notice of it. Hopefully not the Guardians."

 

           "I doubt it." Lux grabbed for the locket to transform but then the TV came on as she pressed the remote by accident. Kha and Widow turned to it. Lux quickly ducked back down as they both looked around, but Lux taking a quick peek, noticed them both turned to the TV, assuming correct that one of them had pressed the remote or something by accident.

 

           "And keeping up with our report earlier today, there are now 19 victims of the so called 'fainting spell'. These people don't seem to share much in common that investigators can find, but with two more victims at a local middle school today, efforts have been doubled. Police Chief Caitlyn has reassured the public that if it were a biological or chemical agent, the effects would be more widespread. She hasn't ruled out some kind of magic yet though, but wasn't saying more. Next up…" the TV cut out as Kha put his blade arm through it.

 

           "So much for stealth. I've managed to deliver the energy we've collected to Malzahar, but we should probably cease operations for now as that no doubt got the Guardians attention. Lux just grabbed the locket again.

 

           "Your right it got my attention. Star Guardian Power Up." Lux's transformation was lost on the two voidlings. Lux stood up from her position, and repeated what she just said. "Your right. It did get my attention."

 

           Kha'Zix expressed his rage in the form of a groan and turned to see Lux standing there with her baton already in position to counter anything the two of them threw at her. "Why are you always causing trouble. I'm getting sick and tired of it. I am a Star Guardian, sworn to protect the universe against all those who wish to throw it into chaos. And that means you."

 

           "Well Guardian, just try it." Kha and Widow both launched their attacks against Lux at the same time, but with a well placed barrier and singularity she not only shielded herself, but struck back as well. Lux quickly sprinted out the room, eager to get away from innocent bystanders, she made her way to the roof, where she was joined quickly by both of Voidlings. "Well, you know how to move fast, but you won't get away."

 

           "Wasn’t trying to." Kha's face was puzzled but then alarm as he quickly dived out of the way. Black Widow however didn't put the pieces together and was hit by a binding, and then a blast of light, and Lux really hit her point. Diving across the roof, throwing more bolts as she ducked behind a structure to quickly catch her breath. After a brief second, she bolted out again throwing a singularity, but Widow was ready for this one. Lux threw a singularity, which while still hitting, Widow threw some web and caught Lux causing her to hit the roof. Hard.

 

           Trying to quickly shake off the daze she was in, Lux turned and threw a binding at Widow, while Kha was also trying to shake off his self inflicted injury. He has apparently dived straight into another large metal object on the roof. Lux tired to get the webbing off, but it was no use. Widow carefully approached her prey.

 

           "Well Guardian, it seems that you are caught in my web. And now I will end you." Lux grabbed her baton to try for a Spark, but before she could even move, another large spider showed up out of nowhere and tacked Widow. Lux and Kha had the exact same face that said 'what is going on.' Widow, blindsided was knocked into a wall. Also very hard. When she looked up to see her attacker, the wasn't a spider, but rather a woman, who also had spider parts, but it certainly was more graceful.

 

"There is only one spider god and only one who gets to look like me. Now be gone from here or you will have problems." The woman stepped over to Lux and quickly severed her bindings.

 

"I think you can handle this from here. Espeically now that more help has arrived." She said to Lux. Turning to Kha'Zix. "As for you, insult the spider god again, and you will face my full wrath." Transforming back into a spider, she hopped off the roof as an energy blast hit Widow again. Lux looked up and saw Debonair standing on at the door to the stairs.

 

"My my what to we have here. It seems an infestation. Are you ok?"

 

          "I’m fine. Now were we?" Lux threw her baton and sent out another singularity and binding. Hitting Widow and Kha'Zix respectively. Debonair threw a pulse as well at Widow now she was reeling from the hits she had taken. Angry she lashed out again with the web, but Debonair deployed some kind of energy gate and sped up dodging it. Widow closed the distance and he then used an energy field to force her back. Debonair then transformed his weapon into its hammer mode and knocked Widow back into a wall.

 

          Lux meanwhile threw more bolts at Kha'Zix who while he missed most and threw his spikes at Lux who while dodging most of them, also took a few hits. She staggers back to her feet with some difficulty turning her body to block Kha'Zix from learning how much damage he'd done. Ignoring the pain from her leg, Lux again threw a series of bolts and another singularity, and Kha again threw more spikes and tried to leap out of the way, but Lux caught him where he landed with a binding that also hit Widow after Debonair jumped out of the way.

 

          "Do it!" Lux charged her baton quickly and Kha'Zix knowing what was coming managed to escape into a void portal, but Widow wasn't as lucky. Beaten down and severely injured, she couldn't move when the binding wore off. She managed to look up to see a giant blast of light, and no more. "Final Spark." Lux threw her power through her baton. Widow was finished and Lux collapsed onto the ground. As much as she was getting used to that, it was still draining. Her leg also refused to support her weight anymore as the adrenaline wore off.

 

          Debonair looked at Lux, who just turned to him and nodded. He took off leaving Lux to her own as she collapsed against a wall after making sure he was truly gone. Dorcha finally managed to make her way up to the roof, or at least it was the first time Lux noticed her.

 

          "Good job Guardian. I'm unsure who that was that came to help, but for now, I say let bygones be bygones."

 

          "No argument here. I'm not in any condition however to follow her. Whatever she was. Either way, I'm not sure if she'll be back or not. I'm happy with not though." Lux got to her feet and after making sure her leg would support her weight, she jumped down and walked off the campus of the radio station before powering down. Her leg hurt less, but it was still a bit painful. Eventually she knew this would catch up to her.

 

          Lux made her way back home and thankfully there was no one home. She carefully made her way to her room and after putting her leg up under her desk, set about just writing and just browsing the internet. Her abilities were getting better, but she still needed to learn when to use her shield and when to dodge. Dorcha just sat on her desk, and Lux knew she was faking sleep but her presence was still appreciated.

 

          Lux was thinking about just taking a nap when Solas jumped through the window. "You do know the door is probably easier?"

 

          "Yes but that is fun. Amy is fine, as are all the others. Mostly the doctors noticed they were tired so really bed rest is the best solution for them. Most will probably be discharged in the next few days. So what did I miss?" Lux retold the battle story, and noticed they were becoming more protracted. "Well we need to build up your stamina then. You can't keep collapsing after the battle or it will be something that the Void will take notice of sooner or later."

 

          "Exactly. Hopefully that is something we can work on in the next few days, but I think you've earned a few days rest. Hopefully." Lux just nodded. Silently hoping as well that she could survive the next fight, and get through a few days of peace allowing her to train and recover.


	5. Training: Extreme Edition

           Lux turned in her sleep as thoughts of her recent battles clouded her mind. While she accepted what she was in, it didn't make it any easier. The scars from just three battles, combined with her training was starting to show both physically and mentally. On top of trying to keep up with everything else in her life, Lux did feel overwhelmed. Hopefully things would calm down enough for her to get a few days of peace.

* * *

 

           "Kha'Zix what do you have planned for your next idea. Your last endeavor had success but I warned you about gathering energy from love. It was powerful, but it bit you in the end. Still the energy you gathered will allow you carry something more powerful with you this time. We need a large amount of energy so careful in your choice."

 

           "Oh great prophet, I have found a great way of getting energy while perhaps going almost undetected. With the changing currents on Runeterra, the people spend a lot of energy on exercising and are willing to go to the extreme. I believe using the culture that has been built up around might allow us to drain smaller amounts of energy from people, but get a larger amount of people."

 

           "Cunning. An actual good idea. Hide in plain sight. I approve. But be warned, the Guardian seems to have eyes in the back of her head. She also seems to follow the news on the planet, so you have to be careful."

 

           "Understood great prophet. May I take my leave?"

 

           "Go." Kha bowed and left the main chamber. In the corridor beyond, Cho'Gath was standing. The giant creature second only to Malzahar himself, looked at Kha'Zix with a sense of distain and respect.

 

           "An actual plan this time. Good for you. Be warned however, your failures will reflect. Feeding the enemy isn't good. It only gives them confidence so even if they are outnumbered and outmaneuvered, they will still fight."

 

           "You would make an eating reference oh giant one."

 

           Cho swelled up. "Watch your mouth or I will feast on you next. Or feed you to Kog'Maw since he never stops eating. Perhaps both."

 

           Kha took a step back, not enough to show he was afraid, but rather to show he meant no threat to Cho. Which was true, he wasn't as powerful, nor would he be able to outmaneuvered him. Kha just bowed his way away from the imposing figure of Cho and carefully made his way to where Khrai was waiting. Seeing the humanoid figure was always strange, but his ability to blend in would be invaluable. And while he didn't look it, he was actually quite powerful.

 

           "Ready master. Shall we depart?"

 

           "Patience Khari, we must find a good opening in the defenses of the planet."

 

           "Shouldn't we do something about that?"

 

           "We don't have the energy to even attempt it. Yet. Perhaps that will be a future project. But for now we just need to survive. We almost depleted our energy reserves to get here, only to find the portal destroyed and a city built up around it. We could attack elsewhere on the planet, but the energy is the strongest here and going elsewhere might attract even more attention that we have already. Careful with your ambitions."

 

           "Yes master." Kha turned away from one of his most trusted and trained underlings and to the globe that was in the room they were standing outside of. Inside was a ball surrounded by currents of energy showing the layers of magic protecting the planet and the small holes that opened up from time to time. Kha studied the currents carefully because coming into contact with one could range from painful to deadly, and surely the Guardian would know. Eventually finding a pattern in the currents today, he and Khari slipped into the planet, but not unnoticed.

* * *

 

           In his laboratory, Vel'Koz took note of Kha's return and noticed the energy he brought with him. "Only three under him that could produce that. I guess I had better let Lux know. In the morning" he added as he looked at the clock. One advantage he had is that he didn't need to sleep, but he knew that Lux did, especially with all of the training she had put herself through in the last few days. Her stamina and endurance were improving, but all things took time, and he, Dorcha, and Solas were having a hard time communicating that.

 

           Lux for her part woke up the next morning feeling better than the night before, and also felt a sense that Kha'Zix was back. She turned on the news and saw nothing new on it so perhaps she might get a jump on their plan and stop them before they start this time. Lux grabbed the locket, and quickly changing into something casual, it was the weekend after all, and after feeling her legs, decided to just take it easier today and walk around.

 

           Lux took a peek into Garen's room after a loud noise came out of it, only to find him still asleep. Snickering to herself, Lux went down the stairs and after checking in with her parents, decided to spend the day walking. Solas joined her as she left the front yard, while Dorcha decided to catch up on some sleep. Solas was always a hit since his white fur, while not uncommon for a poro, still brought more than a few questions. To herself, Lux thought that Solas loved the attention, but keeping from talking was a bit harder. More than once, Lux had to cover.

 

           Either way, it was still nice to have someone while she just walked about and took in the city. While Lux had lived here her entire life, she still liked how the place changed rapidly and always seemed to be doing something new and innovative. Always on the cutting edge, new projects came up all the time and after walking downtown, she saw another in progress. Instead of watching its testing, which usually ended with a few laughs, she drifted into what was called Central Park, even though it wasn't near the city center.

 

           The park was a great green space in the sea of skyscrapers that had sprung up over the course of the last 30 years. The park persisted mainly due to actions by the youth, and now most of the city was against its redevelopment, especially once people noticed that the price of rent and other things nearby went up as a result of the park. Lux laughed as nature once again took over. In the park she was looking for one thing in particular. A large sentient tree was once again making his rounds around the place. Maoaki was a gentle spirit that cared for the park as the aftermath of the old magic wars took hold and gave him sentience. He resented it to some degree, but game to embrace life as he could do much for what was left of the green spaces around the city.

 

           Lux kept moving on however as she worked through the park until she arrived at the place she intended. A small oasis in the east section where a few benches sat in the middle of a grove. Lux took a seat on the benches and seeing no one else was around, stretched out and just sat back. Solas jumped down and made himself comfortable on the bench as well before going to sleep. Lux lost herself in time and it was only a gentle voice that brought her back to reality.

 

           "A piece for your thoughts madam?" Lux turned and saw Maoaki standing there. She turned to face him.

 

           "Just enjoying the peace and quiet for once. Been a busy few weeks hasn't it?"

 

           "Indeed miss. I've seen more and more people here lately. I wish they would stay on the paths but oh well. One can't have everything. I'm sure the peace and quiet is what people need today. I will leave you then to enjoy it. Perhaps today will be a peaceful one, but I have a feeling that will not be the case."

 

           "I hope so too." Lux said as Maoaki walked away but she knew that he was probably right. She could now feel the void energy so she decided to try and hunt it down. "Let go Solas." She said poking the sleeping poro awake. Solas yawned then jumped back onto Lux's shoulder. Lux set out from the park and tried to sense the energy, but it was a small current in the thick of the city so eventually it was pointless.

 

           "Lux I hate to interrupt, but that's the third time your phone has buzzed." Solas quietly whispered into her ear. Lux reached into the small bag she was carrying and pulled it out. Seeing several missed text messages from Amy, Dorcha, and her mother, she carefully responded to each. She told her mother she was on a walk. Dorcha just asked if she was planning on training today. Lux responded with 'just a walk today'. Amy's however got her attention. Apparently one of those gym brands was hosting a free weekend and Amy wanted to know if Lux would join her and some of the girls from class in trying it out.

 

           Lux was curious since normally even those large chains only did things at one location, but the entire brand was doing it. 'Might as well. I'll meet you all at the location closest to school. I need to get a change of outfit from home.' Lux quickly walked back home and after telling her parents what she was doing, grabbed an outfit from her room and dropping Solas of, who quickly went to sleep, she was leaving when Dorcha decided it was her turn to accompany Lux.

 

           "What? I can be spontaneous too." She said as Lux just looked at her with the "really?" look. Lux just shook her head as she left and headed to the gym. Arriving she saw Amy and about 4 other girls from class

 

           "Ready. I'm sure it can't be that bad. Right?" Lux just rolled her eyes at Amy as she pushed her friend into the building. Immediately Lux was overwhelmed with the amount of things there. Immediately a recruiter approached them.

 

           "Welcome girls. I hope you will enjoy yourselves during this free weekend. Any of the equipment is open to you and if you have any questions, just let a staff member know." They all nodded as he turned to the next group walking in the door.

 

           "They must be a bit desperate if they are doing something like this. I mean I know what the price is for a membership here and it isn't cheap." Ariel piped up. Her parents owned a smaller gym but they still survived.

 

           "Maybe they just want to show off." Max said. She was from a military family and while still somewhat new to Grove, she fit in well with the crazy cast they called a class. Both turned to each other and were about to say something when Lux stepped between them and a quick look just said "Cut it out". They both went back to what they were doing.

 

           After changing in the locker room, the group split up a bit to go upstairs on the machines. Lux, still hurting a bit went to an elliptical, while the others went to stationary bikes. After just a few minutes, Lux seemed to notice that people either were working harder than she thought, or people were just really out of shape as no one seemed to stay on their machines very long. Lux even noticed herself slowing down a bit but turning to her friends, they seemed quite exhausted, and then she looked at the time, and it didn't seem right. Barely 30 minutes had passed since they started, and even Lux knew that they weren't that out of shape. Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

 

           Regardless, they all were quickly tired out and quickly decided to leave. On the way out they were again approached by a recruiter. "I hope you enjoyed your stay girls and perhaps you will come back tomorrow. Then maybe a membership?"

 

           "Maybe, but we are beat. Thanks though." The recruiter bowed and hurried off to the next one. Lux and her friends parted ways and after somehow managing to get home, she collapsed onto her bed.

 

           "So you worked for half an hour and are exhausted huh?"

 

           Lux just glared at Dorcha. "Yes, but I can't explain why. That workout was easy but I feel so drained." Dorcha's face went from sarcastic to concerned. She hopped over to Lux and sat on her lap. Her face went from concern to fear.

 

           "Lux. I think that the void is responsible. Did anything seem off while you were there? And I do mean anything at all."

 

           Lux racked her brain, which was already exhausted, but then things started clicking. After putting the pieces together, she sat back in her desk chair, deliberately making herself uncomfortable to stay awake. "Yes. When I looked around, it seemed that people weren't using the machines much. Or getting off quickly. Even those in other areas seemed to get tired faster. Something did seem off, but I just dismissed it."

 

           "Perhaps the void is only draining a small amount of energy from people. Get enough, like how this free weekend is, and you will make up for it. Take enough so that people don't get suspicious, and from a place where people are expected to come out a bit exhausted. Clever really. Seems that someone is stepping up their game."

 

           Lux could only nod because she was just too tired to even think about doing anything today. She could barely stay awake. "We'll do something about it tomorrow. Going back today could cause more issues."

 

           "Like what?" Dorcha said, rather angrily.

 

           "Like they might be able to get a good shot at me since I'm just too tired to actually fight. Second, they might be able to figure out who I am despite all of the magic surrounding me."

 

           Dorcha opened her mouth to reply, but thought about it and closed it again. She knew Lux was right and while she knew that at some point she might have to fight tired, being tired because of lack of sleep and being tired because of having your energy drained were two completely separate things. Dorcha decided to let it go. "Ok but we do need to do something about it tomorrow."

           "Agreed." Dorcha turned to say something more but Lux had just fallen asleep after that last comment. Solas turned Lux's chair so it faced the desk so that when her mother did come in, she would think that she was doing work and just passed out. Which is exactly what happened about an hour later. Lux was jarred out of her sleep by her mother telling her dinner is almost ready. She just nodded and grabbed a pen and went back to "work".

 

           "Hopefully we can avoid whatever that energy draining ability is tomorrow but I guess today the void wins."

 

           "We will lose battles here and there, don’t get discouraged. Eventually we'd stumble into one of their traps unwittingly. The fact they are doing what they are doing says they are still being cautious. Meaning their energy reserves are low. Which also means that bringing something like this to Runeterra says they need energy badly. Hopefully we can stop them from making a net gain."

 

           "Hopefully. I'm not going back tomorrow. Say I'm too tired from yesterday and just plan to stay home and do homework." Both Dorcha and Solas nodded. "But I'd better get downstairs before I get yelled at." Lux quickly went downstairs where they were still waiting on her father to get home. After about 5 minutes he walked in the door and the first thing he did was sit down and put his head in his hands.

 

           "Something wrong dad?" Garen asked.

 

           "Yeah. That free weekend is causing headaches. Apparently people are reporting they come out of it more tired than usual and after a quick investigation, the media go a hold of it and now they are running with it. This day just keeps getting better and better. We can't shut them down but there is enough to pursue an investigation. Hopefully whatever it is will just stop. And I personally hope it’s the people are stupid argument."

 

           "Ok that's enough. So here's dinner." Everyone quickly dug in, especially Lux who was eager to replenish her lost energy. The talk around the table quickly turned into what everyone was planning to do tomorrow. Garen was planning to hang out with the other members of the team; Lux's mother was planning to go shopping and then spend some time with her friends; as for Lux's father, he was planning to sleep the day away on his day off.

 

           After dinner, Lux made her way back up to her room and carefully closed the door. Making sure to put a looping playlist on her computer. She took the pen that Vel had given her just a few weeks ago and drew an outline on her closet door. Then opening the door, she found herself in the tower. Quickly making her way upstairs to the second floor she grabbed the locked off her hip.

 

           "Star Guardian Power Up." She immediately went into full training mode and it lasted almost 2 1/2 hours before she finally gave up. Powering down, she liked what she did during the marathon and it still left her less drained than the "workout" at the gym. Coming down, she saw Dorcha and Solas sitting there waiting to return.

 

           "We've been popping back and forth to your room to make sure you parents didn't look in but they seemed to just keep walking past."

 

           "Yeah they will do that if I have music playing. They just assume I'm working or fell asleep. Ready to go back or did Vel want to see me?"

 

           "All he said was to be careful tomorrow and that the void is probably getting less energy than we think out of this scenario. He probably made the energy back that he spent getting here, but tomorrow is probably the prophet day. So we shut this down early enough, we can hopefully prevent them from getting away with much. But let's get back."

 

           Lux nodded and after clicking the pen, she was teleported back to her room with hopefully none the wiser. Lux sat back down at her desk, but quickly made the determination that she couldn't do more work, and changing into her pajamas, went to bed. Lux slept more soundly than she had in a few days, probably because of the workout she had gotten.

 

           As expect the following morning saw a text from Amy asking if she wanted to go back, but Lux declined saying she was tired and needed to do homework. Amy sent back that she was overworking on the homework, but Lux just said to have a good time. Meanwhile she grabbed the Masking Bracelet as she went downstairs. Careful to kep it in her pocket rather than put it on her wrist, she told her parent that she was going to just take another walk around for the day.

 

           "Take care dear and don't go back to that gym today. It seems their problems are only getting worse."

           "I won't mom. Just relax. I'd be more worried about Garen going. He is always looking to get something for free." Lux quickly sprinted out of the house before Garen could reply. Lux knew she would pay for that later, but decided it was worth it. Walking towards the school, she caught a glimpse of Amy. Ducking behind a building, Lux carefully watched her move to the gym again with only Ariel from yesterday. The evidence of void involvement was obvious, but she needed to see what was actually going on so Lux grabbed the Masking Bracelet out of her bag and put it on her wrist.

 

           "Masking power, transform me into a fitness instructor." Lux found herself looking like everyone else who worked at the gym and quickly made her entrance. No one, even the staff who worked there seemed to pay her any mind for one reason or another.  Finding her way to the staff areas, Lux made her way around to look for anything suspicious. There was nothing obvious, but there was still a sense of something wrong. She noticed a restricted door, which was odd in a staff only area. She opened the door and inside was a room with a pedestal in the middle, with a ball on top, that was glowing.

 

           Lux was just about to investigate when the door handle turned. Ducking quickly out of sight, she saw a staff member enter, touch their hand to the ball, then leave. Lux was about to leave herself when the door opened again. Kha'Zix entered alone. He turned to the ball and laughed.

 

           "Good. This will work then. Now just to get a bit more. Then retrieve the others." He quickly walked back out again, and after taking a minute to ensure he wasn't coming back, Lux stepped out and after making her way out of the room, knew she needed to track down the voidling that Kha'Zix brought with him. Lux carefully made her way around the staff areas and saw that people were indeed more like zombies back here. She made her way back out to the floor, and again came across the people there and seeing Amy and Ariel getting tired, Lux was tempted to go over and see them, but thought better of it.

 

           Amy and Ariel left just a few minutes later, and Lux noticed a staff member carefully putting away what they used, free weights, but she noticed that the staff member instead was touching every weight even ones they didn't use. Lux the noticed a device in her hand. It seemed to be a smaller version of the ball she witnessed earlier. Then a man approached her, and after tapping her on the shoulder, she went off into a staff area. Lux knew that this was the voidling she was searching for, but given the fact it was still early, she didn't want to try and force a fight now.

 

           Lux made her way out of the gym and transformed back into her normal clothes and made her way home. Knowing she'd be back later for a fight made her eat carefully during dinner. During dinner Garen went on about his day just hanging out, while their parents just rolled their eyes at their son. Lux was keeping quiet and carefully managed her food to ensure that she ate, but not too much where it would cause a problem later. After dinner, she made her way upstairs and after putting music on her desktop, sunk out the window and returned to the gym carefully keeping away from the main streets.

 

           Once she arrived she found it closed with a sign over the door saying they were cleaning from the free weekend. Lux made her way behind and inside a small grove of trees, and grabbed the locket. "Star Guardian Power Up." Lux set her feet back down on the grass and carefully made her way up to the roof where she found an easy access point.

 

           Making her way through the gym at night was a bit harder as the lighting was dim, but she remembered the way to the pedestal room. Standing outside, she was about to open the door when she heard a groan from a room across the hall. Taking a quick peek she saw the staff passed out and it seems that their energy had been drained as well. "Someone's going to pay." Lux made her way across the hall again and kicked in the door.

 

           A very surprised Kha'Zix turned to face her while his minion stood to the side, clearly not knowing what to do. "Well it seems my plan has been discovered again. But this time, you won't be able to stop everything my dear guardian."

 

           "Really, I'd like to bet on that." Lux threw a singularity at them both, and while they dodged, it managed to destroy an orb. Kha'Zix flew into a rage and tried to attack but only hit the wall with his spikes as Lux dodged the attack and threw a binding, missing everything but close enough to cause Kha and Khari to dodge out of the way and out into a main room through a door. Lux followed, forgetting about the orbs in the middle of the room.

 

           Once in the main room, she quickly had to use a barrier to stop another series of spikes that flew her way. Lux rolled and landed on her feet this time, only to have the voidling throw a series of kicks in her direction. Lux dodged most of them, but took one in the side that sent her flying into the opposite wall. Quickly jumping back to her feet, she threw a singularity out at the door which Kha'Zix attempted to get back through, and dodged out of the way again. Another binding flew from her baton as she targeted the minion and while the binding missed the minion jumped out of the way, only to be hit from an energy blast.

 

           Turning on her heel, Lux saw Debonair standing in the doorway. "Need a hand?" Lux just nodded and went after the minion while Debonair jumped after Kha'Zix.

 

           "Pitiful. You always seem to need help. Can't handle yourself against the great Khari?"

 

           "Nope, just evening the numbers." And Lux threw another binding, this one landing. She threw a few blots from her baton while Khari roared in anger. Lux threw another singularity as Kha'Zix, and while he did dodge, he ended with a bolt of energy from Debonair's hammer pulse thing for his troubles. Kha'Zix was knocked back into a wall and falling down, he struggled to get up. Debonair transformed the pulse weapon into a hammer and ran at Khari, who had managed to knock Lux onto her back. Just as he was about to strike, Debonair slammed him with the hammer and into another wall.

 

           "You really need to learn to land better."

 

           "Perhaps, but now let's finish this." Lux quickly turned to Kha'Zix and he was still getting to his feet, so she threw a binding at Kha while throwing a singularity at Khari. Both hit and Lux threw a few more bolts at Khari while Debonair sent a few pulses. Khari jumped to the second floor where he was quickly followed and then into room with little light. Lux and Debonair looked around desperately trying to identify where Khari had run off to.

 

           "It seems the tables are turned. Now I am the hunter and you are the prey. Now how best to eliminate you both." Both Lux and Debonair looked around before Khari dove at them both with several precise kicks and punches. A punch caught Lux in the arm while a nicely placed kick sent Debonair to his knees, and he quickly jumped back into the darkness. "Oh did I hurt you two. Maybe you should come and find me."

 

           "With pleasure." Lux made to walk away, but Debonair grabbed her arm.

 

           "That's what he wants. Just relax Guardian. If we stay together we should be fine."

 

           "Back to back then?"

 

           Debonair looked puzzled, or as puzzled as he could behind the mask, but nodded. Both took a stance back to back and kept an eye out for Khari. "Oh decided on the classic stance. This will be easy." A series of air movements kept Lux from using her eyes. Rather she relied on her ears. Debonair was still in melee mode with his weapon at the ready. He seemed to be listening but more relying on his eyes. Lux listened carefully, and when she heard a large movement, she quickly used her eyes to confirm it. Lux then put her foot into Debonair's back, pushing him away and herself into the floor. She tumbled and threw a binding where she just was, and hit Khari. Throwing a bolt, she did damage as Debonair went in for a strike. It instead hit the floor before Khair disappeared agin.

 

           Lux and Debonair again stood back to back where Lux again used her ears to listen to where Khari was. Khari was using his agility to his advantage, but Lux knew that he would probably fake this time and force them apart. When she again heard the sound she was looking for she instead threw a barrier. "Ah someone is learning. Nice play Guardian." Lux just grabbed her baton and again closed her eyes, listening carefully. After a few seconds of silence, Lux knew he was waiting for one of them to make a move and that he would do something to throw them off. She just wished she could communicate that to Debonair.

 

           Knowing she didn't have a way, Lux just had to trust her instincts. She carefully balanced her right foot on her toe and listened again. Debonair was just twisting his head looking for where Khari was hiding. It was then that Khari decided to act. He threw something into a corner, which caused Debonair to turn, and Lux to push off on her heel, turn, and push Debonair away. Khari again jumped at them both, but because of what Lux had done, he missed again and fell to the ground. Debonair didn't miss this time with his hammer. It hit hard and threw Khari into a wall. Lux drew her baton and threw a binding to make sure he stayed here.

 

           Lux then drew her hand along her baton and focused her energy. Jumping into the air, she threw her power into her beam. "Final Spark." Khari barely had time to register what was going on before Lux hit him with her beam. He screamed before turning to dust. "Dusted. Now for the other one." Lux sprinted out of the room and back to the room where the pedestal was. Seeing Kha'Zix there with a void portal open, throwing orbs into it.

 

           "Well I guess he wasn't successful, but successful enough. To allow me to get away."

 

           "Not this time you giant bug." Lux threw a binding, which caused Kha'Zix to leap into the air dropping an orb in the process. Debonair went and shattered the two remaining before dodging as Kha'Zix returned to the ground and threw a few spikes for good measure. Lux threw her barrier to shield him as he moved, and then threw a singularity at Kha'Zix. Catching the bug out in the open, it detonated and she threw a few more bolts at him for good measure. Kha then took to his wings again and flew up to the second level before opening another void portal.

 

           "You may have eliminated my minion Guardian, but I got away with what I wanted. You may have cost me four orbs, but I got away with much more than that. Enjoy your victory." Kha jumped through the portal laughing as he did. Lux threw a singularity but detonated it after the portal closed before it got there.

 

           "He tricked us."

 

           "Yes he did. But what he got away with is more concerning. He knew what he was doing. He hoped that minion he brought would finish us, me specifically, but he got away with the energy he had been storing. I didn't get a count of how many orbs were in there, but you destroyed two, and I know I got one, but apparently got another, that was only four out of probably at least a dozen."

 

           "More probably. This gym has 28 locations around the city. So that's 24." They both turned to each other scared at the thought. "I think our next fight will be much harder."

 

           "I hope not, but it seems like that. We'd better get out of here before the cops come."

 

           "Yeah. Good luck." Debonair left quickly through the door he entered while Lux left via the roof as Debonair got out just before the police arrived. Lux decided to watch as they walked around and after seeing that her father wasn't there, decided that on his day off, Caitlyn didn't want to bother him. Especially considering that she was there herself. Lux stood for a while on the roof watching the police perform their duties and examining the remainder of the orbs. She knew they were nothing special, just bits of glass now, but she still waited and watched.

 

           "Guardian, you might want to think about returning home before your parents find out." Dorcha's voice snapped Lux out of her trance. Turning to the poro who had joined her, she just smiled and nodded. Jumping down from the roof and proceeding a little way outside the general area, she powered down and began walking home. By the time she got back to her house, most of the lights were still on and sneaking a peek, she saw her parents and Garen in the living room around the TV. Her father had already put on his uniform and was clearly ready to leave, but the fact his police belt was on the couch told Lux that he had been told to report in the morning.

 

           For her part, Lux carefully scaled the tree that was outside her window as she had done numerous times, and made her way into her room. Solas was there watching, and turning to see Lux and Dorcha, smiled. "It went well then."

 

           "Not really. Kha'Zix managed to get away with about 24 orbs filled with energy. Debonair and i managed to destroy 4 but he still got away with a lot." Solas and Dorcha held their heads. "We need to speak to Vel about this. But you might want to check in with your parents before you disappear to the tower." Lux nodded and after switching her music off, headed downstairs.

 

           "Decided to come out of hibernation?"

 

           Lux just stuck her tongue at Garen and turned to her parents. "What's going on?"

 

           "Another attack. At that gym this time. Glad you didn't go. I've been told to come in the morning. But you should go back upstairs and get some sleep. You too." Her father added as he turned to Garen. Garen for his part started to protest, but quickly realized it was futile. He followed his sister upstairs and after closing their doors. Lux switched her lights off and made the noise of getting into bed. Lux waited until her parents came up, then grabbing the pen from her nightstand, she quickly drew an outline along her closet door and emerged into the Guardian Tower. Vel was already there.

 

           "I figured you would show up. What size were the orbs that he was using?" Vel pointed to several different sizes along the counter. Lux carefully looked at them all and then pointed at the middle one. "Well that is good and bad, how many did he get away with?"

 

           "24 I think. Debonair said that the gym has 28 locations and while I didn't get an accurate count, he admitted to 4 being destroyed in the battle. I can confirm 3, but no more."

 

           "That still isn't as bad as it could have been. He got away with a lot, but he also likely burned a lot of energy getting here. Or he did what I think he did. He will use that energy to destabilize the summoner magics around the planet. That means monsters who are more powerful and more aggressive. I can't be sure it depends on how desperate they are. Judging by this, they aren't that desperate yet. It is still an energy harvest so it is unlikely they will attack the magics, especially since they will be quickly reinforced. This isn't good either way you put it though."

 

           "Tell me what I need to do. I'm at a loss."

 

           Vel turned to the clearly anxious teen. "Just wait and see what happens. Hopefully we will see what happens in the next few days. If nothing happens, then they are planning a much larger harvest. If we see an aurora, then they are attacking the magics. Either way, they won't make their move for a few days. So get some sleep while you still can."

 

           "Is it possible they may try to unleash multiple voidlings at the same time? Or do two of things you said?"

 

           "Possible, but unlikely. Unless they have drastically improved their energy storage methods, they have enough to do one thing, not both. And by improve, I mean over 200%. Efficiency. Unlikely but possible nonetheless. Anyway Lux, please go home. You have school tomorrow and you need to get some sleep." Lux just nodded and headed back to the door. Clicking the pen, she found herself back in her room where she quickly flopped on the bed and went to sleep.

* * *

 

           On the moon, Malzahar looked at the 22 energy orbs in front of him and smiled. "Well done Kha'Zix. It is a shame that you couldn't get orbs in the last two locations but this will help us greatly. It is a shame about your lieutenant, but his sacrifice will be honored. You have done a great service. Now we need to decide what to do with it."

 

           "If I may prophet. I suggest holding off against an attack against the summoner magics. It would be an obvious attack and would bring more attention. I would use the energy to get a more powerful monster to get more energy and attack something that will get energy in a big fashon."

 

           "Cho'Gath" Malzahar said as he turned to the giant creature. "That would attract unwanted attention. But we do need a large energy infusion soon, so we don't have much of a choice. Take 12 of these to the vault and convert it while we use the rest to send Kha'Zix back with a very powerful minion. Perhaps this time I will pick. Go and wait for my orders. We must wait a few days for a shift in the magics to get you back with something powerful."

 

           The chorus of voidlings left the chamber as voidspawn came to move the orbs. Malzahar stopped the last one however and approached it. "Give that back. I need it for something." The voidspawn rose on its legs and presented the orb. Malzahar grabbed it and the voidspawn ran out of the room. "Now let's see where you are hiding."

 

           Malzahar broke open the energy orb and consumed the energy. Peering through the veil, he searched for Vel'Koz, who still managed to hide from his sight.

* * *

 

           On Runeterra, Vel could sense the watchful eye of Malzahar gazing across the planet. Quickly descending into his lab, and joined by Nasus, they both channeled their energy and  once they felt the eye leave for a final time, relaxed.

 

           "He knows I'm still here, and he wonders why I'm still hiding. We must prepare for the day where this building comes under attack from his spawn."

 

           "Sir the defenses are ready but I think we are being premature. I sense a shift in the sands but I cannot tell if it is good or bad. I suggest waiting to see what will happen sir."

 

           "Perhaps you are right Nasus. Maybe whatever I'm feeling is just Malzahar expending precious energy, but it was strong. Maybe he consumed an entire orb. And if he did, that might just give us a fighting chance. His next monster will not arrive for several days until the magics shift patterns again. Hopefully Lux will be able to get some sleep and rest before this battle. I think it will be her toughest yet."

 

           Vel turned and headed out of his lab, Nasus followed only after checking that the room was truly clear. He felt a presence, but he dismissed it. He knew it wasn't void, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. It also wasn't inside, but he was still cautious never the less.

 

           Outside the library, a figure wearing a full cloak with hood stood in the shadows. Watching and waiting. Once the final lights were turned off in the Library, the figured moved, and seemed to float away.  


	6. The Gathering Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So who was that mysterious figure. Are they friend or foe? Here to help, or to hinder? Keep reading to find out.

Lux just stared at the clock over the teacher's desk, and groaned. Today seemed to be dragging on forever. It was almost 4 days since the last attack and Lux was almost on pins and needles waiting for the next one. According to Vel'Koz, the shift in the magics happened and nothing went through, nor was there an attack on the magics themselves. Lux just put her head back down and stared at her work. She trained every day for the last 3 to prepare but after almost breaking something yesterday, Nasus, who treated her wound, said to take a day off.

 

           She was hesitant to take a day off, but  she also saw little choice since Nasus had told her that she needed a day to heal at the very least to recover. Also she was having a hard time balancing home life as her music ploy was starting to wear a bit thin. Lux just waited for the bell to ring so she could go home and perhaps actually enjoy an afternoon. Taking a look around the class, she noticed Solas sitting on a branch outside, asleep, like a majority of the class. Ms. Teller had just given up after a while to try and keep the students awake and was even nodding off herself.

 

           After what seemed like an eternity, the final bell rang and Lux gathered her things. She noticed as she put everything into her bag that she had managed to finish her homework and after looking at Amy, they both nodded. Time for a trip to the mall. Lux grabbed her bag and joined Amy and Ariel heading to the mall. It was actually nice to walk and talk for a while to take her mind off of the coming storm. Given her last battles, she knew that it would only be a matter of time until they overwhelmed her.

 

           "Lux what is up with you? You are still acting like we are back in class." That jolted Lux out of daze.

 

           "I guess I'm still in that slump."

 

           "Well let's get you out. Come on." Amy grabbed Lux's arm and dragged her to the food court. Ariel following close behind. After sitting down, Lux noticed her energy increasing and she began talking more. Lux in fact relaxed to the point where she was comfortable. Solas, who was in her bag, noticed and smiled. He then went about his usual routine of getting snacks from Amy and Ariel and play up the cute poro. Lux just rolled her eyes at him but no matter what was going on, she felt much better compared to that morning, or at any point during that week.

 

           "Ok now you need some new outfits." Lux just stared at Amy while she again found herself being dragged into yet another store. After trying to argue, Lux just let it relax and sure enough 40 minutes later, the three of them were walking out with new outfits and everything. Solas, who was clearly annoyed at this point was barely managing to keep up the cute poro act. Lux just gave him a smile, and he just gave her a glare. That got Lux to giggle, and Solas to smile at least.

 

           Bidding goodbye to her friends outside the mall, Lux made her way home where she saw Garen in the yard with a few of his friends. Dodging around them, she made her way inside. "Are they still out there?"

 

           "Yes mom."

 

           "He's going to do something stupid again and get hurt. But then what to I know, I'm only his mother."

 

           "He'll be fine mom. He's just over enthusiastic for this game. It could mean a slot for the regional championship this year. Let them play. It means I don't have to listen to it. Nor do you."

 

           "Good point. Well he's still coming in for dinner. About 20 minutes honey."

 

           "Yes mom." Lux made her way upstairs and deposited the new outfits on her bed before putting them in the laundry for the weekend. Lux changed out of her school uniform and into something more comfortable while at home and after remembering she finished all of her work at school, just turned to her computer and started browsing the internet and random topics for the next 20 minutes until she turned to go downstairs again.

 

           In the dining room, Lux noticed her father had come home already and was busy helping in the kitchen. Going outside, Lux still saw Garen and his friend going about. "Sorry boys to break it up, but Garen dinner. You don't want mom to come out here do you?"

 

           The combination of fear and annoyance on Garen's face was enough to make Lux laugh as she headed back inside followed not too much later by Garen. Sitting down, Garen clearly looked beat, while Lux went to help get food onto the table. "Garen get up and help your sister." Garen groaned at his mother, but one look shut him up. He moved into the kitchen and tried to find something to grab. Noticing Lux with a large pan, he tried to grab it but she held firm.

 

           "I have it, grab the salad bowl."

 

           "Really? Just a few weeks ago you would have been begging me to take that." Lux shot him a look that resigned him to the salad. Lux herself made a note that her increased training, while it may not be showing as much physically, it is starting to show to those who know her, especially Garen. She knew that eventually she would have to come up with an excuse, but for now, she could still camouflage it. However, even Amy had noticed her increased physicality lately and mentioned it earlier.

 

           'I'll just have to be careful.' She said to herself as she carried the pan into the next room. Garen was at least polite enough to hold the door and not let it slam in her face. Dinner was a quieter affair than usual, only Garen talking about the upcoming game, which was not being played at the school. It was being played in one of the semi-pro stadiums near the center of town. Lux just tuned her brother out while he was talking and concentrated on eating. Once she had finished, and because her brother was still going on, Lux knew she would have to sit it out.

 

           "So hopefully we can at least tie and force a shoot off." Garen finally trailed off and Lux quickly made for the kitchen with her plate and made her way back upstairs. Lux for her part was quickly enjoying the peace and quiet and hopefully it would stay that way. But no sooner than she had thought that, then she felt a presence. Almost jumping to her window she looked out and saw nothing. Dorcha and Solas also jumped over.

 

           "Something wrong?"

 

           "I felt something. I couldn't tell what it was though." Solas jumped onto the windowsill and looked out.

 

           "Yeah there is something out there, but I also don't know what it is. Perhaps a look?"

 

           "Yeah." Lux grabbed her hoodie and walked outside telling her parents she was taking a quick walk while walking past them. Outside Solas perched himself on Lux's shoulder, while Dorcha hoped into Lux's bag on her back. Lux carefully moved around the block where she lived but couldn't find the presence she felt earlier. The only thing that did happen is that the wind increased, making already chilly night, even colder.

 

           "Perhaps just a few more minutes."

 

           "Are you nuts? I have fur, I'm in a bag, and I'm still freezing. Clearly whoever this is doesn't want to be found. You will have to keep your guard up regardless." Lux nodded and turned to home. She made a note to ask Vel'Koz about it tomorrow but for now, she was just concerned with getting home before either the wind picked up more, or it started raining. Even with all three of them keeping an eye out, not one of them noticed the figure standing under a nearby tree, observing them. Only when the figure moved, making a sound did they noticed.

 

           "Probably just a cat." Solas whispered as Lux turned back onto her home street. Getting back inside, she noticed Garen already had gone up to bed, while her parents were watching the end of the nightly news. Lux made her way back upstairs, still unable to shake the feeling she was being watched. Changing into her pajamas, Lux feel into an uneasy sleep.

 

           Outside, the mysterious figure watched the lights go off, then moved away.

* * *

 

           Lux woke the next morning with a bit of relief, as she didn't feel the presence watching her, but still deciding to tell Vel about it, she made a note to go to the library after school. Changing into her uniform, she headed down to breakfast. Her mother had a few slices of toast already out and after grabbing two, she headed out and began walking to school.

 

           "Hey. Feeling better?" Lux turned to see Amy following her.

 

           "Yeah, just a good night sleep was all I needed. You study for the test today?"

 

           "Hopefully enough. History is just a boring subject."

 

           "Yeah but we need to learn from it right?"

 

           "I guess. Still there has to be a better way to teach it."  
  
           "Agreed." Lux and Amy continued to school talking about the test the whole way there and throwing questions at each other. Finally getting to their classroom, they both took their seats and Ms. Teller handed out the test to begin the day. It was one of those that was both long and annoying, with several essay questions. Lux just hung her head and started working on it.

 

           After what seemed like forever, Lux walked up to turn it in, and while she saw she wasn't the first, at least she wasn't last. Back at her desk, she gave a quick glance over at Amy, who was still in the essay portion, and pulled out her notebook. Lux carefully jotted down everything she could remember about last night so she would have something to tell Vel in a few hours. The lunch bell rang and the class practically dashed for the door.

 

           Lux made her way to the school yard and flopped down under a tree. She carefully picked her way through her lunch as she just enjoyed the fresh air. She could just imagine her weekend, sitting in the stands while she watched Garen play, while being bored. Hopefully there won't be anything amiss for the weekend, but she doubted her luck would hold until then. Sooner or later there would be another attack, it was just a matter of when. 'Well at least I've gotten some real training in and have slept the last few nights peacefully. Relatively speaking.'

 

           Lux continued to pick her way through her lunch before feeling something again. Jumping up, she looked around and couldn't see anything again. Lux still didn't let her guard down this time. She carefully looked around and for the first time caught something. Until it moved and revealed it was a cat. Sighing, she was just about to go back to her lunch, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Turning fast, she saw something duck behind a building across the street. Lux knew for certain that she was being watched, but for what reasons she couldn't figure out. Lux went back to her lunch and after packing it up, went back inside to finish.

 

           When arriving in the classroom however, she immediately grabbed her notebook and jotted down everything about what she saw. Making more notes about the previous encounters, she managed to piece together that someone was indeed following her, but if it was the void, how could they know. As the class began to filter back in, she decided to push it from her mind for the moment, but it came back immediately as Ms. Teller began the afternoon lessons in math. Lux could barely follow along, despite usually doing do. Her mind was going everywhere with what she was able to piece together.

 

           "Luxanna." The sound of her full name was more than enough to jolt Lux out of stump. Only to see Ms. Teller standing 3 feet from her face. "Please if you are going to zone out, then do so without making it so obvious. I don't know what is with you today."

 

           "Sorry Ms. Teller. I just have a lot on my mind."

 

           "Clearly. But that isn't a concern now. Just focus for the next half an hour and you all can leave." Lux just nodded and opened her notebook and spent the next 30 minutes carefully taking notes before the final bell rang. "Lux please stay."

 

           Lux was filled with dread but stayed after the rest of the class filed out. "Lux I am worried about you. Is there something going on at home?" Lux shook her head. "Anything I can help with. You aren't my best student, but you are always up there and lately you have been slipping."

 

           "Just a lot going on right now. Perhaps the weekend will help."  


           "Anything you want to share?"

 

           "No. It's personal but nothing bad. Just a lot of little things." If void attacks counted as little things anymore.

 

           "Ok, but please start focusing in class better. Or make it less obvious when you tune out." Lux nodded, grabbed her back and headed out. Outside, Dorcha and Solas waited for  them to leave the vicinity of the school before opening up.

 

           "Did you see it this time?"

 

           "Yes. Whoever they were, they ducked behind a building quickly when I saw them. I didn't sense the void but something else. I was planning on heading to the Library to speak to Vel about this."

 

           "Good thinking." Dorcha made her usual 'nest' in Lux's bag while Solas happily rode on her shoulder. Lux was able to make it to the library without much time being wasted, and after accessing the tower, she found Nasus there looking around.

 

           "Something wrong."

 

           "I'm not sure. Have you felt a strange presence lately?" He said turning to her.

 

           "Yes actually." Nasus' face went from curious to serious in a heartbeat.

 

           "That is not good. After your last battle, Malzahar used some energy to try and find Vel. We managed to block him this time, but after his presence was gone, there was something else, but I couldn’t figure out what. The fact you have been sensing something tells me that whatever this is revolving around you. Please wait and I'll get Vel. Or not." Lux turned and saw Vel floating in.

 

           "Curious that you two have sensed something and now I felt something similar. I cannot pin it down, but it feels familiar. Not when you arrived, but something different, like from my past. I wish I could be more help, but that is all I can say. But since you have both sensed something please share, and maybe we can piece together this strange mystery we seem to have here. Nasus please go first since you noticed it first."

 

           "It was after we felt Malzahar's presence leave. I felt something in the lab, but couldn't pin it down. After walking outside later I noticed it again. Whatever it was didn't breach the museum but was watching us. I haven't felt anything since."

 

           "Lux please."

 

           "I felt it last night and after walking around, we couldn't find anything. I felt the same thing again during lunch and caught a glimpse of what I think it was. A figure that managed to duck behind a building before I could get a clear look however. They are clearly following me, but I can't figure out why."

 

           "As for us, we looked around Lux's school and her home and couldn't find anything, but we did sense it at Lunch. Solas here only sensed it last night. I couldn’t feel a thing, but I might have missed the obvious."

 

           "It is entirely possible. We all miss things from time to time that seem obvious. You shouldn't blame yourself." Vel stayed quiet. For him to miss something was extremely rare as Lux had come to discover.

 

           "All things said and done however, mean little right now. We must figure out who this creature or person is before they figure out your secret. While the magic protects you while you are in Guardian form from being recognized, once you transform back, it disappears." Dorcha seemed to notice Lux's apprehension and turned to reassure her. "You have been careful, or as careful as you can be. Whoever this is either knows about the Guardians, or is after you for a different reason. For all we know it is one of your father's coworkers keeping an eye on you."

 

           Lux nodded. It wasn't something that was outside his reach, but she didn't like the ramifications if it was true. Lux just kept thinking and pacing while Nasus, Solas, and Vel kept discussing. Eventually growing tired, Lux just collapsed into a chair at the table, putting her head into her arms. "I just don't know. But I wish I did. And why hasn't there been another attack? Not that I'm complaining, but why so long."

 

           "My theory is that the game this weekend will be a huge draw for them and will probably attack then. Oh, that is the game your brother is in right? This could be bad." Vel added as Lux's face went to alarm faster than anything he'd seen. "Just relax. I'm sure that you can stop them, but I think that is the best chance for the next attack. Also I wanted to show you something." Lux got up and followed Vel through a door. Inside was a projection of Runeterra.

 

           "From here, you can see the summoner magics surrounding the planet. It is here you can also see if something gets through. You see the currents? They were designed from the beginning to have holes in them. Holes we could track and therefore know when the void returned, and where. For now, they seem to attack here because of the ruins of the portal to the north of the city. I'm sure they want to reopen it, but they first need the energy to do so."

 

           "What's that?" Lux pointed to a flashing indicator on the globe. But she already knew what it was.

 

           "The next incursion. Be prepared tomorrow as I doubt that a game with that many people watching will go unnoticed." Lux nodded and walked out. Nodding to Dorcha and Solas, they quickly joined her. Nasus and Vel watched her go with the same look on their faces. Relatively speaking.

 

           "I'm worried. Can't you do something to help?"

 

           "You know if I do, they will track me here and all of this would have been for nothing. I know that sooner or later I'll be discovered, but to show our hand this early would be foolish. I don't like it either, but for now, she's on her own."

 

           "I still don't like it." Nasus left and Vel could only float lower to the ground. He knew that he could help Lux immensely, but he also knew that revealing his involvement, would jeopardize the base and everyone here. He couldn't do that. Not yet. He hated this waiting, but it was what he agreed to the last time. Now more than ever he regretted that promise, but he knew that it was done for a good reason. If he were to be captured, there would be no hope. And hope is always a powerful weapon. One that however needed to be nurtured and cared for. Picking himself up, so to speak, Vel floated back to his office to wait for the coming storm.

 

           Lux meanwhile made her way back home, sensing that she was being followed most of the way. She only noticed the presence when she walked passed her school again, and it stayed until she got home. The wind, which was high all day, had finally calmed, which was nice, but still created a stale air feel. Getting home, Lux said hi to her mother, then proceeded up the stairs to her room, where she quickly closed the window and drew the blinds. All she wanted to do was sleep for tomorrow, because she knew she would need all of the energy she could get. But she also felt like she needed to train just a bit more, and after fighting with the two emotions for a few minutes, eventually sleep won out. Lux just settled onto her bed and took a nap.

 

           "Lux time for dinner." Her mother's voice at the door woke her up and after shaking the last elements of sleep from her eyes, Lux followed her mother back downstairs. On the table was Garen's favorite, pasta and meatballs. With game tomorrow, it was expected to have a full dinner, but Lux was never going to say no to her mother's pasta, which she always made from scratch. Which was probably why Lux didn't see many dishes from yesterday as her mother cleaned up quickly after making it since it was usually a surprise.

 

           Lux just sat back and enjoyed dinner with her family and let Garen go on and on about what was going to happen tomorrow. She rolled her eyes occasionally to keep with the mood of things going on. She was just more concerned that this was her last night before a big battle, and that really upped her appetite. Before anyone realized, Lux had eaten two full plates, something she had never done before. The rest of her family turned to her.

 

           "Someone forget lunch?" Lux's brain went into overdrive to explain it. Eventually she just smiled.

 

           "Sort of. Today seemed to last forever so I guess I was just hungry."

 

           "Lux you aren't fooling us anymore." Lux was doing her best to keep her fear hidden. "You are training for something. Or is it something else?" Lux relaxed a bit.

 

           "I guess I just want to get ready for summer." And her father's head hit the table, her mother laughed, and Garen almost choked on his food.

 

           "Nice one sis." Lux just smiled and her father hit his head against the table again.

 

           "Oh come on honey it isn't that bad." And another head to table happened. Lux was just smiling as she managed to deflect most of the suspicion around her more developed physique lately. Her father was of course just shaking his head still, and that caused the remaining three to burst out laughing. Lux made a quick excuse and left the table before things got weirder.

 

           Going back up to her room, Lux made sure that she had the locket where she could easily grab it tomorrow and moved the pen alongside it. She knew it would be early so she wanted to have everything ready. Except what she was going to wear. Dorcha and Solas were enjoying their dinner when Lux just sat down in her desk chair and hung her head.

 

           "Something wrong?"

 

           "I'm worried about tomorrow. That's all."

 

           "Just relax Lux. You will do fine. I'm sure that Kha'Zix couldn't have brought something too big as they are still trying to save energy."

 

           "I hope. Anyway I'm going to just browse…no I'm going to play a game then go to bed."

 

           "Sounds good. Take your mind off tomorrow." Lux grabbed her headset and began playing until she finally looked at the clock and noticed how late it was. Deciding that it was easier to just go to sleep and expect the worst tomorrow, she put the equipment down and changing into her pajamas, went to bed.

* * *

 

           In the city center, Kha'Zix observed the tell tale signs of magic encircling the stadium. Clearly someone had called a few summoners to protect the stadium ahead of tomorrow's game. "Foolish. That magic won't stop us" he said as he turned to Marati. The almost mermaid creature was careful to stay hidden but noticed the magics as well.

 

           "Yes indeed master. But they won't stop us. They will crumble like ashes before us."

 

           "Good now we have to wait for the right moment. They will be expecting an attack at the beginning, middle, or end. Not during the match."

 

           "Master, that is when they expect it. Everyone is in their seats and therefore it is easy to control them. I suggest we strike during the middle of the match, when people are about. It will be easy to capitalize on the chaos and drain the energy from the entire area."

 

           Kha'Zix thought for a moment, then laughed. "Indeed Marati. Indeed. Let us then wait for some entertainment. After all, good things come to he who…" Kha'Zix stopped talking abruptly and turned. Looking around, he rustled his wings, and held his blades close.

 

           "Something wrong?"

 

           "I felt something. A presence, but I couldn't identify it. It seemed familiar though. This does not bode well. We must be careful tomorrow and move for the night."

 

           "Master we are easily concealed here."

 

           "I don't like it. Not with what I just felt. We will move…there" he said after scouting out another location with a similar view, but would be easier to hide in.

 

           "Very well." And the two moved to a new grove of trees and after taking position in one, waited out the night.

* * *

 

           The morning came too early for Lux who was shaken out of her sleep by her mother saying they will be late. Lux just groaned and nodded before lazily getting up and grabbing her clothes for the day. Before leaving her room, she was careful to grab the locket, bracelet, and pen just in case something went wrong. Coming down the stairs, Lux saw her brother already waiting to leave, and getting apprehensive about it too.

 

           "Garen sit down and give your sister a chance to eat something. We have plenty of time before you are even supposed to be there. Your sister hates mornings so give her a break." Clearly someone was testing their mother's patience that morning. Lux noticed her father missing, but suspected he was on police duty at the stadium and had left already. Lux quickly ate a bowl of cereal and after checking everything, and grabbing her phone, she made her way to the car with Garen hot on her tail.

 

           The 20 minute drive to the stadium in the center of town was uneventful but when they got there, Lux sensed two things that made her grogginess go away in a flash. She sensed both a void presence and that presence that had chased her for the last few days. Lux made an effort to still appear half asleep while she surveyed the area. Noticing the police presence, and what was Vi's car, it was hard to mistake it, she knew that Caitlyn wouldn't be far behind. And that meant riot police armed with anti void rifles. Lux shook her head and knew this wouldn't end well.

* * *

 

           "It appears they are assembling a few troops."

 

           "Indeed master. But they won't stop us."

 

           "We must be careful Marati. The people of this world have every reason to hate us, and have taken measures to stop us and fight us in the past. To underestimate them is your death."  


           "Yes master." Marati carefully watched as people started to arrive and they hunkered down until the middle of the game where the chaos would be ripe for an attack.

* * *

 

           Lux for her part made an effort to sit on the end of the row, much to her mother's jargon, until they agreed to sit close to center. Lux for her part was keeping an eye out on all the police and she still tried to sense where those two feelings were coming from. Lux knew one was the void and the other was the one chasing her, but she couldn't figure out where they were, apart from close. Too close.

 

           It was when the players came out for the first time did Lux relax. She knew Kha'Zix wouldn't attack for at least 45 minutes. Even he wasn't dumb enough to attack when the police could watch everything at once. So Lux just settled in her seat to enjoy the first half. Because she knew when it was over there was going to be absolute chaos.

 

           For the most part, Lux tried to relax and enjoy the game, but couldn't, even though Garen's team was doing well. Lux tried to remind herself that if she tensed up too much things would go bad. Under her seat, she felt a brush and put her hand down, Dorcha jumped in and Lux placed her on her shoulder.

 

           "We have Kha'Zix in that grove of trees to the north. As for the other presence, we can't pin it down, but it is familiar." Lux nodded, and she slid Dorcha back down. Lux's mother, too busy cheering didn't notice the poro which she knew was supposed to be still at home. Lux for her part looked at the grove while appearing to watch the game, and a faint flicker told her everything she needed to know. With the 45th minute elapsed, she made an excuse to use the bathroom before everyone else did and sprinted for a very secluded spot. After checking she was clear, even thought it was a closet, she pulled her locket.

 

           "Star Guardian Power Up." Lux was transformed and after checking outside the door, made her way to the roof, still keeping herself concealed. The half ended as expected and people got up like crazy to get food and use the bathroom. Lux just waited for Kha'Zix's minion to appear and for once, she would get the first attack. Except what jolted her out of her careful observation wasn't a roar, but a gunshot. Caitlyn took a clear shot at the grove, and from it, Kha'Zix and his minion sprang in surprise.

 

           "Nice to know I wasn't the only one watching." Lux sprinted down the roof and just as Kha'Zix threw spikes at the Chief, Lux threw her baton, creating a barrier. Jumping from the roof, she landed behind Kha'Zix and her baton returned to her hand. She had lost sight of the voidling, but knew she wouldn't be far.

 

           "Well it seems that underestimating you was a mistake."  


           "You were right about that."

 

           "And a Guardian to boot. Working together now I see. Well how about I just get the energy I wanted and leave. Sound good? Didn't think so."

 

           Lux threw a binding, missed, but the follow up singularity hit its mark. Kha'Zix was clearly in pain as he jumped into the stadium. Lux followed, while Caitlyn ran through the gate.

 

           "I really do hate how they can do that."

 

           Inside was total chaos. Vi attempted to fight, but her energy was drained fast along with most of the other police. Lux quickly made towards the minion throwing a binding and several bolts. The binding hit, and then it was hit by an energy beam. Looking around Lux saw Caitlyn in the seats trying to direct traffic, but still knowing enough to get a shot off.

 

           Lux threw another singularity to keep the minion distracted and sprinted to the Chief.

 

           "Look I don't know what you think about me, but I'm here to help. Now we both have a job to do. Get these people out of here and leave her to me."

 

           Caitlyn, for her professionalism, kept a straight face, but hated the fact she was confronted with sound logic from a teenager, or at least she thought was a teenager. "Fine. Just finish this quickly."

 

           "That's the plan." Lux sprinted back into the fight, where Marati took notice and sent lighting towards her. Dodging it, Lux threw a few more bolts and another binding. It missed, but it hit Kha'Zix, who was promptly hit with an energy blast. Turning, Lux saw Debonair standing in the stands. Clearly he knew that this was going to happen as well. Pointing at Kha'Zix, Lux nodded and he took off after the giant bug while she returned to the minion.

 

           "No one has ever stood against me, the great Marati and lived Guardian. Prepare to meet your fate."

 

           "I don't think so. I am a Star Guardian, sworn to defend the universe against all evil, and that means you."

 

           "You Guardians and your puny lines. They won't mean much when you are gone." Marati threw more lighting at Lux but she was already out of the way.

 

           "You know they it is unhealthy to talk about yourself in the third person." Marati paused for a second, and that was all Lux needed. Throwing another binding and bolts, they hit their mark head on. Marati roared in pain, ducked behind one of the benches, at which Lux used a singularity to force her out. Turning to Debonair, he was doing ok, and Caitlyn was helping evacuate the stadium in a rather short order. However it was just a second too long as Lux turned back to Marati, she was hit with lighting head on.

 

           Collapsing to her knees, she managed to deflect the next attack, but only just. Lux quickly got to her feet and sprinted to catch her breath. Debonair for his part was still doing ok, even with a hit from Kha'Zix. Lux quickly threw a singularity his way to allow Debonair to duck aside for a second, and a binding at Marati. Hitting both, she ran across the pitch throwing bolts at both of them, missing a lot, but hitting when it counted. Kha'Zix and Marati dropped to one end of the pitch, while Lux and Debonair took the center.

 

           Lux was about to move, when she noticed a laser on Marati's chest and grabbing Debonair, she pulled him to the ground. The shot rang though the now mostly empty stadium and hit dead center. Marati went down and Kha'Zix flew at Caitlyn in a rage, only to be hit from Vi's fist, Debonair's Hammer, and Lux singularity. Dropping back to the field, Lux turned to the two officers and motioned them out. Vi quickly dragged Caitlyn out, knowing that this wasn't their fight. Lux knew she would still be outside the stadium however.

 

           Turning back to Kha'Zix and Marati, she threw one more binding and it hit them both. Lux grabbed her baton and charging her power, threw it into her beam. "Final Spark." Dropping back to the pitch, she took a knee.

 

           "Nice job. Hopefully that will end them both."

 

           "Not so fast." Lux and Debonair turned to see both Kha'Zix and Marati get up. Marati was now red with what looked like rage, and Lux knew they were both in trouble.

 

           "Finish them." Kha'Zix opened a void portal and fled while Marati charged at the two. Lux and Debonair pushed each other out of the way and while they landed on their feet, Marati jumped between them and threw out a few bolts which hit dead center. Both of them collapsed to the ground in a lot of pain.

 

           "Even without my master, I can take you both. Now how about I play with my food first." Marati charged again, and was hit by an energy blast and a binding. She broke free quickly and charged again at Lux, and while her lighting missed, her claws didn't. Scratching Lux along her leg, it caused her to tumble and fall into a bench on the side of the field. Lux was bent double in pain and while she attempted to get up, her leg just gave out on her.

 

           Debonair transformed his weapon back into a hammer and took a swing at Marati while she was charging, and while he hit her good, sending the voidling flying, she got back up quickly and threw bolts of lightning at both of them. Debonair dodged and even Lux managed to get out of the way but only just. Marati flew into even more rage, and Lux saw an opportunity. Knowing that anger rarely made one think clearly, Lux saw to take advantage of that and putting the pain in her leg out of her mind, threw her arm and hit with a singularity and a few more bolts from her baton. Debonair charged up his cannon and hit as well.

 

           Lux threw a binding and it hit. Knowing she only had a second, she focused her powers again and charged another beam. "Final Spark." She threw her power at Marati, and it seemed to work. The voidling went down and so did Lux, now plainly exhausted. Then a noise caught her attention and looking up, she saw the voidling again rise up from the beam. Lux dropped her head knowing that this was only going to end badly, and pushed herself to her feet.

 

           "Thinking that anger makes me reckless, I assure you it doesn't. Nice plan though, it did have its merits." Marati taunted them both.

 

           "You aren't going to get away with this."

 

           "My dear Guardian, you are beaten. You are wounded, clearly exhausted, and so is your friend here. I fail to see how you can win. So let's finish this." Marati charged, connecting with Debonair on her lighting and Lux with her claws, this time on her other leg. Lux rolled across the field, now clearly in no position to get up. "I'll deal with you in a moment my dear."

 

           Marati threw herself at Debonair, and while getting hit with his hammer, also took a hit to his arm. Dropping to the field as well, Marati just taunted them both. "Oh I feel like I did enough damage. Now to finish off the lone Guardian." Marati turned to Lux who was still struggling to get up. "You're finished" and Marati charged. Lux tried to throw a barrier, but it failed. Putting her arm over her face, Lux braced for the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote most of this battle scene in one go and after editing it for clarity I decided to end with the cliffhanger rather than finish it out. I have to have something interesting to start the next chapter. Thanks again for reading and the next chapter will be following shortly.


	7. A Shifting of the Tides

          Marati charged across the pitch to Lux, who with both legs injured, wasn't going anywhere. Lux grabbed her baton to throw a barrier, but it failed so she just put her arm up and prepared for the worst.

 

           "You're finished!" Marati laughed hysterically as she moved across the pitch. Lux only braced herself more, but when the blow was expected, it didn't come. Lux opened her eyes and saw a barrier surrounding her. Puzzled since her own barrier had failed, Lux turned her head looking for the source.

 

           Marati, who had swung her arms with those claws, was now nursing them and her chest as they rebounded back on her. She was also looking around for the source of the barrier. Lux turned to Debonair and he shook his head. Lux turned around and saw no one else in the stadium.

          

           "Picking on someone who is helpless. You haven't changed have you." Came a voice at last. Lux turned her head, and smiled. Standing on top of the stadium roof was unmistakably another Guardian. Lux couldn’t help but look back at Marati, who's face went from anger to fear at the drop of a hat.

 

           The Guardian for her part, had the same style boots Lux did; a long golden staff topped with a star; over the elbow white and gold gloves; a white and purple outfit with a purple band running down the center with a matching purple skirt and a high collar that fluttered behind her; finally a tiara holding her purple hair, which was much different from Lux's on her head.

 

           The new Guardian hopped from the roof, and the wind almost seemed to carry her gently to the ground. Landing beside Lux, she took the downed Guardian by the hand. "I guess we finally get to meet. I'd say introductions were in order, but I think we have bigger concerns. Let me patch you up." She twirled her staff and suddenly it began to rain, but the rain was warm and inviting. Lux breathed it in and noticed her energy returning. The wounds on her legs were healed, and she noticed her strength returning. Debonair also stood up with renewed energy. Lux also turned to Marati, who she noticed had been throw against a wall and was just getting back up.

 

           The three of them turned to Marati, whose face was still frozen in fear. "Your turn." The new Guardian threw what looked like a miniature tornado and it hit dead center. Marati was throw into the air and came back down hard. Debonair took advantage of the opportunity to charge up an energy spear and after activating his gate, threw it against the voidling. Marati was now in dire straits. The prolonged battle had left her with numerous injuries, but the fact her opponents were on a second wind, while she had already passed it, wasn't good. So she lashed out again.

 

           Debonair and the new Guardian managed to dodge the attacks, but seeing that Lux wasn't, the new Guardian threw another shield on Lux, causing Marati to rebound again with bad results. Lux took advantage of the opportunity to once again throw a binding and several bolts. She then charged her beam for a third time. Marati, tried to move, but the new Guardian hit her with what looked like a feather that slowed her progress. "Final Spark." This time the beam did its job.

 

           "Dusted. Finally." And Lux again collapsed. Debonair, wandered over but kept his distance. The new Guardian bent down next to Lux.

 

           "I know you are hurt, but I think there are some proper introductions to get to. But you might want to get back to your parents first. I know where the base is and I will see you there in a few hours. Take care." She kept her voice low enough so that only Lux could hear.

 

           And with that, she almost floated away. Lux turned to Debonair. "Well, nice to have some help."

 

           "Yep. You ok?"

 

           "I'll be fine. You?"

 

           "Same I guess. Be careful out there."

 

           "You too." And with that they separated and Lux retreated back outside and after finding a concealed position, powered down. Lux turned to find family and after just a few minutes found her mother in a slight panic, but with the amount of people still running around, it seems that many were separated.

 

           "Lux. I'm so glad you are ok. What happened to you?" She said as she grabbed her daughter and pulled her close.

 

           "Mom, I'd tell you but I can't breathe."

 

           "Sorry." And she released her grip.

 

           "I was coming out of the bathroom and saw the stuff going on and just got out as quickly as I could. I hid somewhere, I don't remember, and once it seemed like it calmed down, I left to find you. How's Garen and Dad?"

 

           "Your father got hit with that energy drain thing while Garen and the team took refuge in the locker room. Caitlyn is furious that this happened, and that the Guardians were fighting, but seemed relaxed when that second one showed up. Perhaps she's coming around. But at least you are safe. They have called the game for now so I'm planning on going home with Garen. Oh here he comes. Are you coming home?"

 

           "No think I'm going to walk." Her mother nodded, and as Garen came to the car, Lux gave her bother a hug, which he returned.

 

           "Glad your safe sis. How's dad?"

 

           "Asleep. He'll be fine in a bit. I'm going to wait for him Garen if you want to wait. Or you can walk. I would prefer if you stayed, along with your sister, but I'm not going to stop you." Lux decided to stay and wait for their dad, and once he wandered over, he just got in the front seat while her mother drove home.

 

           Once home, her father went upstairs and collapsed, Garen went to his room and blasted music, her mother just went to the couch and nodded at Lux. Lux for her part, went to her room, change quickly, and headed out. Making sure to grab Dorcha and Solas as they left. First taking a rounding path, she eventually found her way to the library. Entering it, she made her way to the tower and saw Vel and Nasus there.

 

           "Well Guardian, that was a fight. Glad to see another Guardian awoke and showed up just in the nick of time."

 

           "You can say that again. I'm more concerned with the expression on the voidling's face however. It was almost recognition."  


           "Because it was." The three of them turned and saw a girl standing in the doorway to the tower. Seeing her, Lux put the pieces together immediately. Just as her hair did, her new friend's must change as well, in this case, white blonde to purple. She was dressed like one of the girls from Garen's school and knew what part she would be playing. Turning to Vel and Nasus, they just stood there. Dorcha and Solas were equally in shock.

 

           "Hello again you four."

 

           "Janna? How did you survive? We weren't aware anyone made it out." Lux now was completely confused. So she took a step back and sat down on one of the stools.

 

           "I almost didn't. I managed to shield the squad at the last second, but when I awoke, I was the only one still there. I then blacked out and woke up again a long time later in another city with no memory of how I got there. I tried to find out what happened, but I have since failed. I somehow ended up with a family that took me in, apparently I was an orphan that they adopted, still can't figure out that memory lapse. And they moved here a few weeks ago. That's when I noticed this changed, so I knew someone else had awoken and I started listening to the news, watched, and waited. I think I should explain since Lux here looked confused."

 

           "My name is Janna, and I was the last leader of the Guardians here on Runeterra. I'm sure you know of that final battle, but it is clear that leadership passed to you. That locket you have, that is only given to the leaders, while the rest of us get miniaturized versions of our equipment. In this case, my staff. Oh you remember Zepher" Janna added as the cat jumped onto the counter. It looked at Lux carefully before settling down.

 

           "Barely, that is still a blur for me."  


           "I'm sure. Know that you are no longer alone. We hopefully can get along, better than my last squad, but it's clear that you are the leader now so I will do my best to help and guide you. No don't want the position back so don't ask. That is how this has always worked. Better just not question it I've always found."

 

           Lux nodded and closed her mouth. Having a veteran from the last group was a great asset, but something still puzzled her. "Wait what did happen at that final battle?"

 

           "I'd…rather not talk about it." Sensing Janna's hesitation, Lux just backed off, for now at least. Sooner or later she would get it, but pressing Janna now would lead to bad things. Dorcha also looked annoyed, while Solas looked concerned, but both remained quiet. Unusual for either one of them.

 

           "Alright. So what do we do about the void now. That last raid cost them dearly you can be sure they will be back soon."

 

           "That depends on how much energy they have left over from that raid on the gyms a week ago. If they have more left than we thought, they will be back sooner than later. If they lost more than we think, they will take their time. Either way, Malzahar won't be happy with the result of this."

 

           Lux noticed Janna tense up at the sound of Malzahar's name, but she didn't press the matter. At least for now. Somehow those two were connected, but it would be a while before Lux knew why. Either way, Lux knew there was little more that could be accomplished tonight.

 

           "Well I'm going to go home. It's been a long day already and I want to check in with my brother."

 

           "I'll keep an eye on him while we are at school."

 

           "Wait. If you were the leader of the last team, then aren't you…"

 

           "Old? No actually. The one funny thing about being a Star Guardian. Whatever age you accept, you are there until you pass your powers. One way or another. I suspect my memory lapse might be related to some kind of magic where I actually regressed in age to keep up with my biological age. But we can't contact the First Star to know for certain."

 

           "Ok that's just…"  


           "Weird? Definitely. But since I have so few memories from back then, perhaps this is the way it was meant to be. I don't know. I know a lot about the Guardians, what we do, and what we stand for, but that's well beyond what I know. Now go home before your parents start to worry. We can get to know each other more later. I'll find a reason."

 

           Janna winked and Lux took it as an excuse to leave. Looking back as she reached the door, she saw Janna heading up to the second floor. Smiling that she was no longer truly alone in her role, she clicked the pen, and found herself in her room. Hopping from Lux's shoulders, Dorcha and Solas turned to her. "You knew her."

 

           "Yes we did. Like everyone else, we thought she was gone. That last battle was colossal in size. We weren't near it, but we did see the after affects. The funny thing is all of Janna's old equipment is in the museum. Maybe there is something else that allowed her to survive."

 

           "Perhaps…stasis. Maybe she placed herself in a magical stasis until the time was right, purging her thoughts as a result, or on purpose. Either way she is still hiding something." Lux nodded, but after checking in with her parents, and her brother, she decided to spend the rest of Saturday just sitting playing games. Trying to take her mind off the chaotic day she already had. And the lingering pain in her legs.

* * *

 

           Janna for her part, did head up to the third floor, and found Lux had not chosen her old room. Instead, she found her old room, looking over the Library and after placing her name on the door, she headed home. Walking past Lux's house on the way, she noticed Dorcha sitting on the windowsill, sleeping. Janna smiled and after turning to Zepher, they both headed up the street to her adopted home.

 

           "Janna. Good you are home. We were worried.  You heard about the mess at the stadium?"

 

           "Kind of hard to ignore it dad. It was very…noticeable. Explosions, gunshots, and then three large beams. Yeah kind of hard to ignore that."

 

           He just laughed. "Janna you still know how to make me laugh after all these years."

 

           "Dad. I have a serious question. I know I've asked it before, but I want a real answer."

 

           "I guess you should know. Your mother was unable to conceive, so we turned to adoption, and you have been the love our life ever since."

 

           "I know that, but do you know what happened to my birth parents?"

 

           "Oh that." He chucked a bit. "No we don't. All we know from your records is that you were dropped off as an infant and we adopted you about a year later. They said, given how you arrived, it was probably a mother who was overwhelmed and gave you to someplace that would take care of you because she couldn't. I wish I knew more but are you unhappy…" His voice dropped as Janna fell into his arms, crying a bit. He just hugged her back. He knew it would come sooner or later, but given how much she's been prying about her past lately, he was ready.

 

           "Sorry, I know it's a touchy subject for you." Janna finally said.

 

           "No. Not at all."

 

           "You're lying."

 

           "Prove it." And Janna elbowed her father in the stomach. "Ok yes but it isn't as bad as you think."

 

           "Thanks dad. I'm going to finish homework." Janna proceeded to her room as her father looked on.

 

           'Still not one regret. She's happy. She knows. And she still calls us Mom and Dad. Win all around.'

 

           Janna sat in her room while Zepher joined her. "I wish I could help Janna, but I can't remember anything either."

 

           "I know, it's just frustrating."

 

           "Eventually we'll figure it out. Just stop stressing over it. Ever since you woke to your old memories, they have been clogging your head. Just relax and you will get through this. Lux seems nice and will help you. She will eventually pry into that final battle, but I'm sure she's content to let you live and let live for now."

 

           "She'll know eventually. But until that day comes, she can't. It's just…"

 

           "I know." Zepher hopped into Janna's lap as another tear appeared. Curing up on her lap, he just let out a purr, earning a smile from Janna, who turned around and picked up her tablet and went back to some new comic books.

* * *

 

           "Kha'Zix. I am not pleased. Now we have that Guardian back. She was a pain the last time, and with her experience, we will have to spend more energy to get what we need. I'm puzzled how she survived that final battle, but we will figure that out in time. We have to plan a new attack soon as our energy reserves were very much depleted in that attack. Marati was one of my best warriors. We will have to resort to more subtle attacks for now."

 

           "Oh great prophet, I understand. I didn't foresee another Guardian waking that quickly. I will redouble my efforts to acquire energy."

 

           "Be careful Kha'Zix. Avoid populated targets. Try to go under the radar like the last good one. We cannot afford mistakes right now."  


           "Understood."

* * *

 

           As Sunday evening wound down, Lux turned to see a purple and white cat in her room. "Zepher what are you doing here?"

 

           "Sorry to intrude. Not surprised are you?" Lux pointed to Dorcha and Solas. "Right. Janna asks that you ride with your brother tomorrow as it will create an excuse to run into each other. She'll be walking by your school hopefully as Garen pulls up."

 

           "Thanks. Zepher. Be careful out there."  


           "Always am." And he quickly left through the window. Lux sat back in her chair and relaxed. Convincing Garen to drive her tomorrow wouldn't be too difficult, but running into Janna would be harder. But if she is a student at Garen's school, he can never ignore a pretty girl looking for a ride. Lux smiled as she admired her plan and decided to just go to bed for the night.

 

           The following morning, Lux managed to convince Garen to take her to school, and pick up Amy along the way. Both girls in the back talked while Garen just rolled his eyes until they got to Grove. When they pulled up, Lux noticed Janna and then it occurred to her what she was thinking of doing. Lux got out quickly and deliberately knocked into Janna, and they both fell to the ground.

 

           Lux just got a quick look at Janna, who winked in reply. Lux shook her head and quickly got to her feet.

 

           "I'm sorry. I didn't see you."

 

           "It's fine." Janna replied as Lux helped her to her feet. Garen, for his part, took immediate notice. Getting out, he stepped in.

 

           "I'm sorry my klutzy sister knocked you over. I see we go to the same school. Allow me to make up for her error with a ride so you don't have to walk." He was almost beat red, and Lux played along with it by rolling her eyes. Lux took another look and saw Zepher in a tree with Dorcha and Solas and all three were barely holding in their laughter.

 

           "It is no trouble I'll walk. Everyone has a bad day."

 

           "I insist." Janna's turn to roll her eyes. Playing the girl who is playing hard to get.

 

           "Fine. But I need to know your name first."

 

           "Garen. And the klutz who knocked you over is my sister Luxanna." That actually got Lux to shoot him a stink eye. Janna just giggled and nodded. After allowing Garen to be a gentleman and help her into his car, he quickly speed off. Amy was also barely containing her laughter. Lux shot another look at Zepher, Solas, and Dorcha, and all there were laughing.

 

           "You have to be more careful Lux. You could actually get your brother to maybe catch someone someday."

 

           "Dream on. He was barely avoiding tripping over himself there. He couldn't land someone if his life depended on it. Now move or we will be late." And the two of them hurried inside.

 

           The drive for Garen was a complete nerve racking experience. When they arrived after a rather quiet ride, Janna gracefully got out. "Thanks again. Don't keep apologizing for your sister. It was an honest mistake. But still, I'll see you in a few classes." That left Garen stumped until he remembered that she was in his mathematics course. Smiling again he almost forgot to lock his car before going in. Being one of the few students with a car, he really didn't need to worry, but also knew that there was nothing as too careful.

* * *

 

           For both Guardians, the morning and the day in general was boring. Classes always weighed heavily on both of them and things weren't going anywhere fast. At least not yet. Lux noticed that she felt even more tired than usual and looking around so did everyone else. The only one who didn't seem to be lagging was Amy. Lux tried to clear for fogged up mind for a few seconds but couldn't think of a reason. Lux noticed that everyone at the school seemed to be in a haze, and they all didn't seem to notice it on everyone else.

 

           Making her way to the roof, she saw Dorcha sitting there. "Noticed it did you?"  


           "Feeling it too. I feel like I'm in a haze. Only Amy and a few others seem to be unaffected. I just can't figure out why."

 

           "I'll look into it. I had Solas run over to the high school to see if something similar was happening."

          

           "Hopefully not. But then who knows."

 

           Lux was correct, it was happening and Janna was also in a haze. Noticing that only a few there seemed unaffected as well, she also tried to figure it out, but failed due to her tiredness as well. Zepher also took note, but he was in a similar haze. Solas showed up a few minutes later.

 

           "Happening here too."

 

           "What? The fact everyone is tired? It's boring what do you expect."

 

           "It hit you too. Have anything similar to the students and teachers?"

 

           "No. Wait. Yes. The water. I've had a few sips from Janna, who refilled her water bottle from the school's fountain. That's it."

 

           Solas quickly jumped down and after checking Zepher was following, headed over to the main water line into the school. Sensing no void energy, he turned to Zepher. "We need to spread out and find where the energy is coming from. Wait." Solas felt all of the void energy disappear. "Rats. Hopefully it will be back tomorrow. We'll have to tell the Guardians."

 

           "Right." And they both separated and headed back to their respective charges." Arriving back on campus, it was clear today was a bad day to be a yordle. The short inhabitants of Runeterra and the city were almost being tripped over by exhausted students. Solas managed to make his way to Lux, who was almost asleep at her desk.

 

           "Don't drink the water. There is void energy in it." That snapped Lux out of her trance as she turned to the poro sitting on her shoulder.

 

           "You sure?"

 

           "It's the only thing in common. It seems gone for now, but it probably will be back." Lux put her head into her hands and thought very carefully about what Solas just said. They must be getting in somewhere, but doing this over a large area would make it harder to detect, in theory. But in reality she knew it would be caught. So it must be something else. Lux knocked her head against her hands again to clear the last bits of fogginess and it came to her. There was something else that the schools shared, a lot of people who had a lot of energy, but weren't doing anything with it.

 

           "It's not the water. It's the fact we aren't using energy. Amy and the others unaffected are always doing something therefore are expending energy. Whoever this is, they are carefully targeting those who aren't doing anything. So where would they put a machine like that?"

 

           Solas hopped down and headed out while Lux pulled out a notebook and started expending energy to keep herself awake, and it was working. Solas for his part passed the information to Dorcha who relayed it to Zepher and Janna. Janna also made herself busy and noticed she was feeling more awake. Solas meanwhile scouted out the area and he was drawn to the High School's planetarium. He managed to sneak inside after getting Dorcha and Zepher and they found what they were looking for.

 

           Inside, Kha'Zix and what looked like a cat were in the room. "Excellent Harad. Using this plan, we should drain out all of the excess energy out of those students. It is funny how they waste so much and if they look sleepy, it just blends in."

 

           "Indeed master. Hopefully the Guardians will not notice, but they seem to have ears everywhere. I would suggest we stop for today and wait and attack another target tomorrow. We have to shift."

 

           "Agreed. Let's move." Kha'Zix opened a void portal and disappeared. The three looked at each other. Nodding. They ran back to Janna and Lux to report. Agreeing without seeing each other, they would meet at the tower after school, which came much faster than anticipated.

 

           At the tower, the two talked it over.

 

           "We have to be careful. We can't just up and leave school without warning tomorrow we will get caught. But we also need to know where they are."

 

           "So you three will have to be our eyes tomorrow. Find out where they are, so we can get them."  


           "Ok how you will you manage to get out of school. We don't have a solution to that one."

 

           "Actually I do." Vel said has he wandered in. "Take these. Tomorrow just swallow them when you hear about the attack and ask to see the nurse. They will replicate symptoms of a bad stomach ache and they should let you go, or at least keep you in the nurse's office. There we can fool them with a bit of your magic. You can persuade them at you are still there even if you are gone. Just spray this when you need to leave if they won't let you go home."

 

           They both nodded and after a nod from Lux, they proceeded up the stairs. "Star Guardian Power Up." In an instant, they were both transformed.

 

           "I guess I'll start with showing you my powers. You obviously saw my tornado yesterday. But I'll demonstrate again." Janna charged a twister and threw it in a line. "Once it's gone, I can't control it, but you see there. I also have Zepher here. When I transform so does he into this elemental." Zepher made himself just a bit darker to show. "He takes the form of a feather and can slow down opponents." Janna called on a dummy to demonstrate. Zepher leaped from Janna's side to attach to the dummy and slow it down, almost out of time."

 

           "Nice."

 

           "Like you, I also have a shield, but it is limited to a single target. And finally I can call upon the rain to heal and restore you. But I can also push wind through it as you saw yesterday. Hopefully we won't need that as, like your Spark, it is rather draining. I saw your abilities yesterday but you might want to demonstrate them again."

 

           Lux went through her abilities again for Janna's sake and then they began to practice together. A tornado/singularity combo was rather effective. After an hour, they both powered down and headed back outside. The day was nice and they both walked separately back home for fear of being discovered by anyone as they weren't "friends" yet but that was going to change. Janna had managed to get out of Garen information about Lux and seemed to be interested in them both. Lux just rolled her eyes as Janna explained that.

 

           Lux arrived home to an empty house, which was highly unusual. Pulling out her phone, she checked and she didn't miss anything from her parents. She went up and found Garen in his room. Knocking, he turned.

 

           "Finally decided to come home?" Lux rolled her eyes. "Jeez I'm only kidding. Mom and Dad went out for a night. Also thanks for bumping into that girl this morning. She was cute and…"

 

           "You didn't even talk to her on the ride there did you?"

 

           Garen face went through 10 shades of red in about 15 seconds. "No. But I did talk to her during math. She expressed an interest in seeing you, since I let slip about your gaming habits."

 

           "Sure, you don't have a motive here do you?"

 

           "No."

 

           "Your face tells wonders."

 

           "Ok fine. She's cute and nice."

 

           "Keep going there. Maybe you will get lucky." Lux ducked out as Garen threw a ball at her, which hit his door instead. Heading into her own room, Lux went over to her computer and began looking up all of the schools that were in the area of hers. The results left her even more drained. "Too many" she said after a half hour of searching. Lux decided to get something to eat and after looking through the kitchen, and noticing that they were low on things she decided to go out. Heading up the stairs to grab her bag, she ran into Garen.

 

           "Nothing in the kitchen?"

 

           "Not much."

 

           "Well I guess out it is. See you later."

 

           "I'm sure." Lux entered to room again to find Zepher. "You are Janna's companion right?"

 

           "Yes. But she had a message. If you are willing, and able, she would like to 'bump into you' at a place about 4 blocks from here. The Noodle House or something."

 

           " I know what she's talking about. Sure I was planning on going out anyway."

 

           "Excellent" and he hopped back out the window. Dorcha and Solas turned to Lux.

 

           "He was always like that. Janna has some maternal instincts and wants to watch out for everyone. He just wants to keep everyone in the loop."

 

           "But he sometimes doesn't do the best job of respecting people's privacy. Maybe he could use a few lessons on that point."

 

           "Perhaps. Well let's go." Lux held open her bag, and the two jumped in. Lux grabbed her hoodie and headed out. Locking the front door behind her, she proceeded to Kench's Noodle Kingdom. Arriving, she didn't see Janna, but saw Tahm behind the counter clearly welcoming customers. Lux placed her order and sat down, while Dorcha and Solas carefully made their way out of her bag and onto the seat. After looking around, Lux noticed Janna carefully entering, and after she got her food, joined Lux at her table.

 

           "Is this taken?" Lux shook her head. "Well let's try to meet properly without one of us bowling the other over. I'm Janna."

 

           "Lux" she replied as she took Janna's hand. Their conversation quickly changed up the conversation to basic introductions to keep up the illusion until their area emptied out a little. Janna kept a careful eye on the door, knowing Nasus also frequented this place and for someone else.

 

           "I'm just saying that we can't possibly monitor all of the schools."

 

           "It will be difficult, but getting out will be harder. Oh look." Lux turned around carefully and noticed Garen and his friends walking in. Lux immediately turned back around not wanting Garen to see her, but Janna just smiled. "He'll probably try again. Your brother is quite charming, when he can get the words out." 'And when he isn't trying to overdo it.'

 

           "Yeah , but he tried to overdo it so much that it drives people away. Here he comes."

 

           "So I run into you again. This really is a nice place isn't it." Lux just kept her head down for the moment. How her pigtails were lost on Garen right now was beyond her but whatever. Janna for her part was playing the girl who was flattered but more interested in continuing to chat with her current companion. "Any way I could join the two of you? Perhaps we could get to know each other."

 

           Janna winked at Lux, who readied herself. "I would hope you know your sister by now but if you wish I have no objections." Garen's head turned to Lux who just smiled and waved. Inside his head, Garen was an idiot for not recognizing his sister before and quickly lost his train of though. Giving his sister a moment to laugh quietly.

 

           "I’m sure we can get to know each other better in school. Nice to see you again Luxanna." Garen quickly left to join his friends and they were clearly giving him a hard time for not recoganizing his own sister. Lux just smiled and it was only then did it click that he addressed her by her full name. Scowling, she returned to her food.

 

           "If you want to go berate him for that, I'm not going to stop you."

 

           "He does that when he gets hit with the unexpected. Usually me in places where he didn't expect me. I'm not a fan of this place, but still know it enough. He just trips over himself, and now he defends me" Lux noted as Garen hit one of his friends in the arm. Janna just looked puzzled.

 

           "I don't see how you know that."

 

           "Because I know him." Janna just nodded. There was that bond between siblings that always seemed to persist. Even if they were always at odds with one another. Quietly they turned back to their real goal while Lux noticed Zepher outside. He was harder to sneak in than the two poros she brought.

 

           "We'll just need to be on watch tomorrow, but I have little doubt that we will catch them in the act. Just keep busy and we should be fine. Just fake having a sore stomach all day."

 

           Lux nodded and they quickly turned to other topics, like gaming and talking about the latest tournaments. Garen for his part did wander back over about 5 minutes after that began and while he tried to keep up, the conversation was quickly lost on him. Leaving just a few minutes after he tried to join them, Lux noticed he went in the opposite direction of the house.

 

           "Well, we probably should get going since we do have to be up tomorrow. Just one last thing, exchange phone numbers. We used to use communicators, but since this is available, why not use it?"

 

           "Agreed." The two swapped phone  numbers, and parted ways. Lux made her way back home and noticed the door to Garen's room was ajar, her parents still weren't back yet. Inside he was playing a game, and she just smiled. Clearly Janna had caught his attention like no one other since he usually didn't spend a lot of money trying to figure out what was going on. Lux shook her head and headed back into her room

 

           Immediately she noticed something was off. Turning back around she burst into Garen's room, knocking him out of his chair. Lux just stood there with her arms crossed and staring at her brother. "Sorry sis, didn't hear you get home. Um I was going to…"

 

           "If you want to know more, just ask next time. Or get your own."

 

           "I did. Its setting up." Lux turned to a small TV and noticed another console there.

          

           "Next time ask. And wait for yours to update before grabbing mine. Also touch my computer and you will know the phrase 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'" Lux turned, and figured Garen would return her console so she grabbed her headset and headed back onto her computer. Garen managed to sneak in and place it back on the table in her room while she was playing, with Janna.

 

           "Don't do it again" and he sprinted out and his door slamming was all the ability she needed to smile. Lux signed off a few minutes later and decided to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

 

           Lux's prediction turned out to be correct as Dorcha, Solas, and Zepher ran around to surrounding schools trying to find where Kha'Zix was set up today. Janna and Lux had managed to play the "upset stomach" card well enough so that their teachers were keeping an eye on them. Janna was trying to sit through her math class with Garen constantly staring at her, while Lux was trying to keep busy in her class while Amy and others just scribbled around.

 

           Both kept checking their phones for a message from the other one, but it never came. Lunch finally rolled around and Janna texted Lux for info, but she just said nothing was available. None of them have reported back yet so they just ate their lunches with their friends.

 

           For their part, Dorcha, Solas, and Zepher were running around and tyring to find something. And for the most part, there was no luck. Dorcha made her way to the next school on her list, when she immediately sensed the void energy. Looking around, she was almost back to Lux's school and after noting the name, Runic High, she dashed back to Grove Middle School.

 

           Lux was barely focusing on the lessons she was supposed to be learning because of how she was anticipating leaving at a moment's notice. Looking out the window, she still saw no one and a check of her phone saw nothing more. Lux just put her head on her desk. At first it seemed that working all day wouldn't be that hard, but it was harder than she thought. Drifting of again, she almost missed a black poro outside the window. Lux shook off the distraction and after seeing Dorcha jumping, she bit down on the pill in her mouth and immediately doubled over while she waited for it to take effect.

 

           "Ms. Teller, I really need to go to the nurse. I think something in my lunch made it worse." Ms. Teller turned around and nodded.

 

           "Need help?" But Amy was already helping Lux out of her seat. Lux carefully hid her phone in her pocket before standing up fully and with Amy's help went down to the nurse. On the way she slipped Janna a text.

 

           Janna was barely focusing on her classes when she noticed her notification light. Quickly checking it, Janna put the pill from Vel into her mouth and followed a similar procedure. Janna had no issue getting to the nurse on her own, despite the offer of several guys in the class.

 

           Both nurses were perplexed, but after their "symptoms" subsided a bit, they released them to go home as the day was nearing an end. Both quickly sprinted out of their schools and met Dorcha between them.

 

           "Well that was quick you two. They are at Runic High. I suggest transforming immediately and heading out."

 

           "Right. Star Guardian Power Up." Both were transformed into their alter egos and they ran for the school. Arriving, the void energy was obvious. Runic was a different school and had slightly different hours. Both knew that Kha'Zix would be preparing to leave and they quickly moved to the school's roof.

 

           Once there, Janna managed to identify where they were, on the school's tower. Turning to Lux, she nodded and Janna sent a twister towards the tower. Clearly not expecting that, Kha'Zix and his minion jumped from the tower and onto the roof.

 

           "Well you both certainly know how to introduce yourselves. Now let me introduce you both." Kha'Zix flung spikes at the two Guardians but both had already jumped out of the way. "We can't lose the energy we have collected. Harad finish them and report back, or don't if you fail."

 

           "No." Lux threw a singularity and not only did it manage to collapse the void portal, but it sent Kha'Zix flying backward. Lux threw a few bolts from her baton while Janna took on Harad and Zepher managed to show up in the nick of time and slow the voidling before he managed to connect with his claws. Janna used her control over the air to float around the battlefield while Harad tired himself out from repeated strikes that hit nothing but air.

 

           Lux threw a binding at Kha'Zix, and while he dodged that, the hammer that quickly ran into him was another matter. Kha'Zix quickly found himself flying into a wall again as Debonair sent an energy pulse his way. Jumping out of the way did little as Lux threw another singularity his way. Connecting with it and several bolts from her baton, Kha'Zix flew into a rage. Throwing himself at Lux, he knew he made a bad decision immediately as her binding connected and more bolts. Kha'Zix was now struggling to stay on his feet. Collapsing to the roof, he knew he couldn't burn much more energy or this would be a loss. Something Malzahar wouldn’t forget.

 

           Lux seeing Kha'Zix was down for the moment turned to Harad, who was doing a dance with Debonair and Janna. Well it was him dancing to their repeated attacks as they wore him down. Lux threw another singularity at Kha'Zix to make sure he stayed down for the moment, and threw a binding at Harad. Connecting, he was hit with bolts, an energy blast, and wind slashes. Harad collapsed, and Janna knocked him up once more.

 

           Coming down hard, he somehow managed to jump over to Kha'Zix who was just getting back to his feet. "Consider this your day Guardians." Kha'Zix opened another portal and was just about through when another twister hit them both, and then a binding from Lux. Lux focused her powers and threw them into her beam.

 

           "Final Spark." The blast hit them both and Kha'Zix managed to escape, but Harad was dust on the roof. "Dusted." Smiling, Lux turned to Janna and smiled. Janna returned it while Debonair was making a hasty exit. Clearly not wanting to talk today, he made a beeline for the ladder and after sliding down, he disappeared.

 

           "Did you have anyone like that your last time around?"

 

           "Yes actually. And more. This time Malzahar is being careful. So while the authorities probably know it is the void, the vast majority of people don't. Still, he seems nice and willing to help. Sure he's not your brother?"

 

           Lux gave Janna a shove as they both laughed and headed towards a small patch of trees. Powering down, they made their way separately towards their homes to enjoy the rest of the day.

 

           Getting home, Lux saw a note from her mother telling her to rest a bit before dinner. Janna found a note from her father telling her to do the same. Their reactions were the same. Still, they both headed up to their rooms and decided a nap wasn't a bad idea after all.

* * *

 

           "Kha'Zix. I am not pleased with what happened today. You very nearly cost us everything. Your portal allowed that Guardian's beam to penetrate here and destroy some of our voidlings. Along with some of our stored energy. Your profit from today was wiped out by your actions. You again underestimated those Guardians, especially one we are familiar with. You should know better. Maybe it is time I relieve you of your duties or feed you to the Baron."

 

           "Please prophet no. I know I made a mistake, but something was different about them. They seemed stronger than before."

 

           "Did you forget Kha'Zix?" Came a voice from the shadows. "Guardians are more powerful when they group up. Their common goal and purpose unites them and gives them more power."

 

           "I do not need your 'advice' Rek'Sai."

 

           "Really? I was promised a world where my brood could live in peace and grow, yet I see repeated failures from you. Perhaps it is time we change."

 

           "That is _my_ decision burrower queen. I will give Kha'Zix another chance, but those chances are running out. Still at least today wasn't a total loss. Things could have been  a lot worse. But failure is beginning to creep into this chamber again, and that I will not stand. Now leave my sight and come up with a new plan.

 

           "Yes prophet." Kha'Zix and Rek'Sai both left the chamber in a hurry and once they were out, turned to each other again.

 

           "Your attitude Kha'Zix is amusing but you cannot outrun your failures forever. Giving the Guardians confidence will only help them. They clearly do not underestimate you, and you still do them."

 

           "Want to take my place? But you can't after your spectacular failure." Kha'Zix spread his wings and jumped out of the way as Rek'Sai took a swipe at him.  She missed but was close enough to give them both pause.

 

           "Careful with your words Kha'Zix. Or soon, you will be eating them." Rek'Sai carefully walked away before returning to her chamber. Kha'Zix went outside and stared at Runeterra.

 

           "Curse this planet and curse its Guardians." He spat.

* * *

 

           On Runeterra, Lux and Janna looked up at the moon. Knowing their opponents were there, just out of reach was infuriating, but necessary. 'Someday we will force you all back into the void.' Lux thought as she went back inside and went to bed.

 

           'Someday, I'll have my revenge.' A twirl of blonde hair as a window closed was all that was seen.


	8. A Championship to Remember

          "But mom. I already paid for the tickets and I'm not going alone anymore. Please?!" Lux threw in the poro eyes for good measure as she stared at her mother. Lux knew that she would get her way, but the fact she now had a friend to go with was only helping her case.

          "Oh very well. You will be home as soon as it is over. Provided there isn't another scare."

          "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Lux hugged her mother before sprinting back upstairs. Grabbing her headset, she saw that Janna was still not back. So Lux jumped into a match while waiting for her.

          "Dad. Mom. Please. I know we just met but we have a shared interest in this."

          "I'm still hesitant honey. But if it means you are making friends, fine. You have been alone for so long, we worry about it."

          "Dear just let her go. You aren't going to stop her unless you keep an eye on her at all times."

          "Oh very well." Janna hugged her parents and sprinted back upstairs. Seeing Lux was in a match she waited for it to be over. "So what did they say?"

          "Yes. After using the poro eye trick." Janna just laughed.

          "Yeah same. Hopefully it will be fun and we could use a break."

          "Just be careful you two. You never know when…"

          "We know." Solas jumped back as Lux and Janna through Lux's headset said it. Dorcha just laughed behind him.

          "Just be careful." Solas hopped down and resumed eating. Dorcha couldn't because she was still laughing.

          "So we should meet there early since they have a few good music acts that are preceding the tournament finals. Hopefully we can get a good show at least."

          "Yep. See you tomorrow then at the tower?"

          "Yes. And I'd better get off before I get yelled at again. See you then." Lux put down her headset and turned off her TV before crawling into bed. Solas still had this aura of annoyance, while Dorcha had finally stopped laughing. "Come on, you had it coming."

          Solas just returned the annoyed look before he finally jumped onto the bed and settled down. Lux just shook her head while turning out the window and quickly fell asleep.

          Janna stayed up for a while, before turning off her gear. She turned to the moon and staring at it, brought a tear to her eyes. Zephyr jumped up onto the bed to see and just settled down next to Janna allowing her to rub him. Not that he minded, a nice back scratch was good.

          "Someday soon, I will get you back or at least, get my revenge." Zephyr let out a yelp as Janna accidently dug her nails into his back. Swiping at her hand, Janna quickly pulled her hand off her companion. "Sorry."

          "Janna if you keep letting this bother you, it will consume you and you will never get over it. You can't keep doing this."

          "And you are saying I don't have a right to these feelings?"

          "No, but you let them consume you, you will never forgive yourself once they leave or you get what you want. It also isn't what he would have wanted." Janna sighed and bowed her head. While she knew Zephyr was right, she didn't show it. Pulling her covers over her, Janna settled into another night of uneasy sleep.

* * *

 

          School the next day was agonizing for the two of them. Having finals of one of the biggest video games in their city tomorrow just made the day go by slowly. Lux knew that at her school, she was one of the few girls who played games, well in her grade at least, but she did better than most of the boys. Janna was among friends as many in her grade played them.

          However, both of them were annoyed that the only talk was the attack on the stadium the previous weekend. Lux and Janna were so frustrated with the everlasting conversations, that it was unclear who was more annoyed, them or their teachers. A slap on a desk brought Lux out of her trance and made the rest of her class shut up.

          "Enough about it. It happened. It was chaos. But if you all don't stop talking about it, how will you pass your tests. I have one of you spacing out because she's heard enough, so why don't the rest of you pay attention. Now back to math." Lux smiled and returned to class while the rest of the class seemed put out. Lux knew they had to talk about it, but to this extent? She just shook her head while taking notes.

          Janna was not so lucky as many of her teachers had given up for the moment and while she just looked out the window, her teacher just handed her the notes and the work from the class, nodding. Janna responded and just began working. It was hard to talk about the attack when you were a part of it, and couldn't tell anyone.

          "Oh come on Lux get over yourself. You were there weren't you?" Amy's voice cut into her thoughts and knocked Lux out of another trance.

          "Yes I was but I don't want to talk about it. I was in a closet most of the time just hearing those things was enough. I'm glad everything worked out well, sort of, but I just don't want to talk about it." Lux said, trying to convey her reluctance to talk about it.

          "Ok. Jeez. You need to relax girl." Amy seemed put off, but she still backed off.

          Lux turned to Amy who was visibly hurt. "I'm sorry. It's just everyone has talked about it for days and while I'm happy to have more things to forward on my personal things. I just don't like talking about those sorts of things. You know me Amy. Oh you."

          Amy's face was cracking up as she pulled it again on her best friend. "Fooled you. But seriously if you want to talk you know how to reach me."

          "Thanks I'll remember that." Lux went back to her notes with peace. After flicking an eraser at Amy.

          When the final bells rang, Lux and Janna practically ran for the tower and to get some practice in before the tournament this weekend. To say they had nerves to work off was an understatement. Both went at it hard, perfecting their combinations, especially their barriers. Lux was the one dealing most of the damage, while Janna focused on controlling the fight. Using their abilities together, they found it easy to find ways to not only avoid damage, but dish it out as well.

          "Ok we'd better stop before we lose it." Both powered down and headed downstairs to see Vel'Koz floating in the room.

          "Ah both of you are here good. I was hoping to talk to you both before the weekend since I won't get the opportunity. Hope that championship goes well for your team. Hopefully it won't be a blowout. Kidding." He added quickly after seeing the angry faces of the two. "Anyway, I haven't detected anything, as I'm sure you haven't. which means two things. One, Kha'Zix is already here and ran the barrier earlier in the week. Or two, he will be running it tonight. All I can say is that the attacks here have sparked more interest among some powerful summoners. They are working on ways to reinforce the barrier. While we all agreed the holes would remain, it will be harder for the void to attack." Vel'Koz finally finished and turned to the Guardians.

          "Good. That will hopefully help us until we get all 5 team members awake and we really can start kicking butt." Janna said as she sat down.

          "Wait why can't we do that now? It seems to be working." Lux now looked from Vel'Koz to Janna with a very curious look on her face.

          "You didn't tell her?" Janna asked.

          "It didn't come up and your arrival is still pretty recent. It didn't seem relevant at the time." Vel'Koz clearly was trying to avoid the question.

          Janna signed and let her head fall. "Ok there is a reason that Guardians work in teams. The more of us there are, the stronger we are as a result. We are better as a team. Our powers hit harder, our defenses are stronger, and our reflexes become faster."

          "Are there ever more than teams of 5?" Lux asked, now very curious.

          "Rarely but yes. Only if the treat is dire. Which this just might be. But we know the powers of my remaining teammates were trapped on this world and have passed onto others. Somehow I kept mine, but that is a story we will have to figure out later. If we could reach out to the First Star and their companions, we might be able to get help, but that isn't an option right now. We are on our own." Janna said as another twinge of guilt rocked her.

          "Ok this is going to sound stupid but how will I know when I feel…" Lux trailed off as she struggled to find the right words.

          "A connection? You just know. It isn't something I can describe. It's more of a feeling." Janna said and Lux just nodded. Somehow the fact Janna kept bringing up the past is more of an indication that she wants to talk about it, but also wants to find out what happened.

          "Be careful, with that many people there, it is no doubt a target. If Kha'Zix doesn't attack, I will be surprised." Vel'Koz warned as they moved to leave.

          Both nodded. "So are we going to cosplay or just go as ourselves?" Janna asked.

          "Well our tickets don't have our names on them, and they have skins that were based off the Guardians, so I don't see why we just can't go in transformed. Or is that a bad thing?" Lux added quickly after she saw Janna's confused face, and Vel'Koz's panic.

          "Well, it is different than long ago. This day is much more accepting so is there a problem with it? I don't see one." Vel'Koz turned to Janna who still had a confused look on her face. Lux had a separate outfit at home she was planning on wearing, but the thought just popped into her head. She could also see the gears working behind Janna's eyes. Eventually Janna shook her head and shrugged.

          "I don't see why not. The Guardian skins are popular and it isn't like anyone will recognize us. One of our directives is to blend in and since they are popular, they will be featured. I'm not sure if First Star would approve, but it is rather interesting and a somewhat ingenious solution. I'll just have to make sure Zephyr doesn't overact." She said turning to her cat.

          "Why would I…oh wait. Nevermind. I'll be a good elemental." Zephyr just sighed. 

          "Still don't trust you." Zephyr looked angrily over at his companion and Lux just lost it. Laughing like crazy she barely managed to pick herself up off the floor to see Janna shaking her head with a smile on her face and Vel'Koz quickly floating towards the door.

          "You really need to control that laugh." Vel'Koz said as he left. 

          "I can't help it. I've always laughed like that. So noon tomorrow then?" Lux asked Janna turning to her.

          "Yes that should be ok. We'll transform closer to the stadium however." Janna said as Lux just smiled and the two grabbed their bags and headed out. The night was painful as the day turned to night, Lux had just settled down when she felt a presence and grabbing the pen off her nightstand, she made a portal to the tower. Janna clearly had the same idea as she was already there.

          "Felt it too?" Lux nodded. "Let's check the globe." Heading into the next room, they saw a small blip on it, that quickly turned into two blips. "He's coming. I guess going transformed tomorrow might not be a bad idea."

          Both headed back to their rooms to prepare themselves for the upcoming fight. Lux felt she slept better since she know that the fight wasn't a possibility, it was a certainty. "I'll be ready" she said as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

          The following day, Lux made an effort to grab her bag and her ticket as she ran downstairs at 11 to meet up. "Lux it is 11 you can wait 20 minutes to meet up with your friend." Lux quickly sat back down and ate the lunch her mother provided. Remembering what food costs were at the stadium, she quickly enjoyed it.

          "Thanks mom. I forgot how much food costs there." Lux said.

          "I do know things honey. Just remember that." Lux rolled her eyes as her mother took a seat laughing. "You're not dressing up?"

          Lux shook her head. "Not this time. In case there is another one of those attacks, I want to be ready to run. So sensible." Lux knew the smile on her mother's face was enough to get her off the hook.

          "Just have fun."

          "I will." Lux quickly got up and headed out. Janna was waiting at the point where they said they would meet and they both set off towards the stadium. Getting close they nodded at each other. Zephyr, Dorcha, and Solas took off really quickly to scout the area. Returning they nodded. Lux grabbed her locket, and Janna her pendent.

          "Star Guardian Power Up." In an instant they were both transformed. Looking at each other, they both smiled.

          "I still have misgivings about this you two, but there really isn't another plan right now." Lux said as she began to doubt her own plan.

          "Oh you two are coming with us." Janna turned and grabbed Solas, while Lux grabbed Dorcha and they placed the two on their shoulders. Zephyr made himself even more invisible while settling on Janna's other shoulder.

          "See, this makes it a little more convincing. Not to mention our outfits look a lot closer than I thought to two characters, so we should be fine. Pictures won't matter, as people might even think we are cosplaying as the two new guardians to push for more skins." Dorcha on Lux's shoulder couldn't really argue with this as it was an effective cover, and given that an attack might take place. "Not to mention I've already seen cosplay of both of us on the web." Dorcha just sighed and resigned herself to the situation. Solas still had misgivings but like his companion, also resigned himself.

          Walking to the stadium, Janna saw how right Lux was. There were no less than 30 people cosplaying as Guardians, whether it be from her old team, as either Lux or Janna from now, or characters from the games. "Ok you were right. This wasn't a bad idea, but I'm still saying this isn't something I would have done…" Janna started but Lux cut her off. 

          "That was the past, this is now. Things are different." Lux reminded her.

          "Indeed." Janna and Lux proceeded into the stadium where there were plenty of people taking pictures and plenty of people posing. They both just rolled their eyes.

          "We only stop if we get asked. Otherwise we just continue. Let's see that DJ they have." Janna only nodded in reply. She was still nervous at Lux's plan, but so far it seemed to be working. And if Kha'Zix would attack, he would have a hard time picking them out with everything around them. Perhaps this wasn't a bad idea. Because if someone did get attacked, they wouldn't have time to transform in time to do anything.

          Lux was also avoiding the attention of the camera, which while unnecessary, was still a relief. They both managed to make into the hall with the music while only being stopped twice for pictures. Not that they didn't make a show of it, but Lux sensed Janna's uneasiness with this whole thing and decided it would be better to avoid the spotlight. The only incident was when Janna was knocked by another girl with long blue pigtails. 'At least my hair normally is natural. That is just ugly. Wait she seems familiar.' Lux grabbed Janna's arm as she just stopped in the middle of the hallway. Janna quickly began moving again.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile, in the rafters of the stadium, Kha'Zix and his minion Sarn waited. They could sense the Guardians here, but with all of the people dressed like them, they were impossible to stop. "The people of this world have the weirdest ideas of what is acceptable."

          "Master, it is their way. If we try something, we will be spotted instantly. There is nothing that looks like us in that game, so we can't move. I know you are impatient, but we can't do anything until they are all seated or until afterwards."

          Kha'Zix hated being told the plan, but his frustration was leading him to make mistakes. He then had an idea. "Come." And they both disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

 

          In the stadium itself, people were beginning to trickle in as the opening acts wound down. Janna and Lux found their seats and were asked for a few more pictures before the event began. Janna relaxed a little as people didn't see them as the true Guardians, but she was still worried. She couldn't sense Kha'Zix but knew he was close. This wasn't something he could ignore.

          Lux was also worried but showed it more. She was also nervous that someone might figure it out, but so far, no one had. Taking their seats, the opening ceremonies began. For now, it seemed everyone was safe. Lux and Janna both relaxed as Lux elbowed Janna and pointed. Standing in the rafters was Caitlyn who was carefully watching the crowd and around her. In fact, now that she looked around, Janna noticed a lot of police, but many of them seemed to fight right in. Even Caitlyn did, dressing like a commando from the game.

          As the opening ceremonies wound down, the teams for the finals walked out to overwhelming applause. Having narrowly defeated the Demacian Knights, it was the Protectors of Ionia vs. The Noxian Deathstalkers. The teams slugged it out for the first match having a nearly hour long game. Many times it seemed like Noxus would win, but Ionia kept holding on. Until the last teamfight that was where Noxus ambushed Ionia and sending it to victory.

          Lux and Janna tensed up after the game as they felt sure that Kha'Zix would attack but nothing came. They both got up to walk around and get refreshments but for the most part were just keeping an eye out. Once the second match began it was clear that this would be going to best 5. With Ionia tying up the score at 1-1, Lux made an effort to walk the stadium fully during the next break. Janna remained at their seats. As Lux was walking around she noticed many people there, and also took note of Garen and Jayce.

          "Your boyfriend is here." Lux said as she got back causing Janna to panic.

          "What? Who?" She whispered.

          "That meat sack also known as my brother." Janna rolled her eyes as she gave Lux a playful punch in the arm. Settling down for the third match of the night, it wasn't even clear who would win it as the hour mark approached, the two teams seemed intent on outmaneuvering the other, but having little success. The crowd however was going crazy and wouldn't let up. As the hour 15 minute approached, it seemed that Noxus had outmaneuvered Ionia and it led to the class base race. Noxus won, but barely.

          Just as the match ended, Lux and Janna both sensed Kha'Zix making a move, but just as they grabbed their weapons, while making it look like they were just grabbing them to go get refreshments, the energy dissipated. Confused, they looked around, there was too much chaos to pick out anyone. "They want a first strike against us but they can't find us. We could use this. They will make a mistake and hopefully get hit in the process by one of these cops."

          "Hopefully we will be able to stop them before they retaliate then." Lux added as Janna made to leave this time. Dorcha and Solas seemed to be enjoying themselves with the food that everyone keeps dropping, which they catch before it hits the ground. "Would you two stop being pigs?" They both just turned to Lux and went back to eating. Lux rolled her eyes as Janna came back shaking her head.

          The fourth match compared to the previous three was fast. Lasting just over 30 minutes, Ionia ambushed Noxus early, and didn't let up. Forcing fights and taking objectives in rapid succession. Lux and Janna turned to each other as the match concluded, and knew this is when Kha'Zix would strike. A quick match would mean people would be getting up quickly to prepare for the final match. And they were proven right when a gun went off in the rafters. Everyone started running to the exits, but because everyone around them had gone to get refreshments, their section was relatively empty. Lux and Janna dove towards the stage and leaped onto the stadium floor where Kha'Zix's minion had appeared.

          "Your energy is mine." It roared and began draining the energy from those around him. Lux however wasn't having it and quickly threw a singularity knocking the minion out of his phase. Roaring and turning to the two Guardians, he lashed out with what looked like a whip, which they dodged, and a second later Kha'Zix landed just where they had been standing.

          Lux and Janna stood side by side and faced Kha'Zix and Sarn. "I am really getting sick and tired of these encounters. Now we order you to stop these immediately for we are the Star Guardians. Sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you."

          "You Guardians and your sayings. Yet they never seem to help do they?" Kha'Zix almost laughed as he faced the guardians.

          "How many times have we beaten you already?" Lux said. That got them both into a rage, and Kha'Zix flew after Lux while Sarn tried to flank.

          Janna quickly threw Zephyr at Sarn to slow him down while she shielded Lux as she went after Kha'Zix. Throwing bolts from her baton as she threw a binding at the giant bug, Lux dodged out of the way of his spikes. Janna kept moving around Sarn to keep him off balance and to keep him from also going after Lux, but eventually Janna missed with her tornado and he pounced. Janna fell to the floor in anticipation of the blow but it never came. Janna opened her eyes to see Sarn across the floor and a figure with a hammer standing there.

          "You really need to send invites to these parties. Seems mine keeps getting lost." Debonair said as he transformed his weapon back.

          "We didn't think you would need one." Janna replied as Debonair helped her up. They both went after Sarn but he quickly recovered and dived out of the way.

          Lux for her part was holding her own against Kha'Zix who kept trying to land attacks but only hit air. Becoming frustrated, he attempted to leap out of the stadium floor, but was hit with a shot from Caitlyn, who apparently had recovered from whatever started this melee enough to aim. Lux looked up and nodded to her. Caitlyn returned it, but only Lux would see the ever so slight inclination of her head. Lux threw another singularity at Kha'Zix, which only messed him up further. As he tried to land carefully, a tornado swept him up and caused him to land smack in the middle.

          Janna threw another tornado at Sarn and while it did miss, Debonair with his hammer didn't, knocking the minion back into his master. Both of them on collision separated a bit, but not enough for Lux to miss with her binding. Quickly gathering her energy, she prepared for her spark, but the binding wore off faster than she could charge. Janna threw a tornado to keep them pinned but only caught Sarn, who was then caught in Lux's beam. Kha'Zix fled into a portal and Lux carefully stood in the middle.

          There was a tapping, and Lux looked up to see Caitlyn motioning to them. Climbing to the top of the stadium, they met with her as spectators made their way back into the stadium. The teams were already practicing waiting for the final match. Finally reaching Caitlyn, Lux swallowed and put her mind to carefully selecting words.

          "Was it just me or did that seem to easy?" Caitlyn asked, clearly knowing the answer already. Lux, caught off guard, turned to Janna and Debonair, who both nodded in agreement. "I thought so. I don't think that giant bug is done. I think the after party is what he will be after. But there are 5 of them and we can't figure out where he will be."

          "Probably the one with the most people." Lux said.

          "That would be in the main multipurpose room." Janna said, indicating the room towards the back of the area. 

          "Then that is where we will focus our efforts. In the meantime, I suggest we don't go anywhere. Instead we can watch the match. Seemed good so far." Caitlyn said, missing Janna's eye roll.

          Watching the fifth match, even after all of that chaos was thrilling. After nearly 50 minutes, Ionia, caught in an ambush, turned the fight to win the championship. Lux and Janna did their best to keep their excitement under control as they kept looking around for Kha'Zix, who wasn't gone. They could tell that.

          Even with the attack, spectators filed into the post championship celebrations. Lux, Janna, and Debonair took turns moving between the five after parties to keep an eye on things. Eventually Janna went into one of the more private ones, for the sponsors of the teams, to find everyone passed out. Janna quickly ran back to Lux and Debonair who checked the other ones to find two from the remaining three knocked out. Heading to the fourth, they found Kha'Zix in the process of draining the energy from those who paid huge amounts of money for tickets just for this.

          There seemed to be an unspoken agreement to wait until he was done, when he would be most vulnerable to attack. "Excellent. Even though I lost my minion, I can still get energy from this." Kha'Zix quickly threw an energy orb through a void portal and turned only to see a binding land squarely in his face. The follow up bolts from Lux's Baton, the sting from Zephyr, and Debonair's energy pulse caught the Voidling off guard.

          Kha'Zix roared and jumped through the window. Lux and Janna quickly followed while Debonair threw another energy pulse from the window itself. Kha'Zix landed on an hard roof, and clearly injured himself in the fall. Lux and Janna on the other hand, landed carefully and managed to catch themselves and prevent injury.

          "Why can't you just stay out of my business? I am sick and tired of you two always interfering with my plans." He dodged out of the way as another energy pulse landed where he had been standing. "Fine you three. Happy you fool?" Debonair just sent another energy pulse as a response.

          Lux and Janna just stood there facing down their opponent who was also being careful. Kha'Zix knew he was outnumbered and outgunned, but if he was careful, he might be able to remove someone from the fight. Janna carefully studied the way Kha'Zix was moving and without even a word to Lux, they both knew what was about to happen. Kha'Zix moved first, throwing a series of spikes at Lux and Janna, who quickly dodged and Lux threw her baton creating a barrier on the two which stopped most of the damage. A few cuts on the legs was the worst of it. Janna however, shielded Debonair, who also seemed to guess what was coming and had is weapon in hammer mode, and knocked Kha'Zix away from his perch in the broken window and back down onto the roof with Lux and Janna.

          Janna quickly threw Zephyr at Kha'Zix slowing him, and allowing Lux to hit him with another binding. Throwing more bolts from her baton, Lux connected and Kha'Zix flew into a rage. He charged at Lux without thinking, only to be hit with a singularity, a tornado, and an energy pulse. Kha'Zix was throw across the roof in pain and as he attempted to get to his feet, he saw a void portal open next to him.

          "Kha'Zix return at once. Before you embarrass yourself further. Today is yours Guardians. Don't get used to it."

          Kha'Zix flew through the portal and it closed rapidly behind him. Lux turned to Janna, whose knuckles were white on her staff. Letting out grunt, she turned and headed back into the stadium. "Go. I'll talk to her." Debonair nodded and quickly left. Lux had to search before finding Janna on the roof. Lux didn't power down, because Janna hadn't, which considering the police presence below, probably wasn't a good idea.

          Lux sat down next to Janna and noticed the tears in her eyes. "What's wrong? Who was that?"

          "I said I don't want to talk about it. But I guess you deserve to know. That voice was Malzahar himself. Clearly our attacks have been getting on his nerves and today's was probably one of the last straws for Kha'Zix. He is running out of chances and I doubt that he will be given many more of them." Janna was fighting to keep her emotions under control.

          Lux just nodded, but she knew that Janna wasn't telling the whole truth. But pressing her now was not only a bad idea, but the sight of two Guardians, who just appeared to be taking a few moments after a tough fight, fighting was a bad idea. Especially when she noticed Caitlyn looking up at them with a face of mixed frustration and thanks. Lux knew that the details would come out eventually, but not soon enough.

          "Janna, you know that I am entitled to the truth." Lux turned to see Janna' eyes watering.

          "I know and you're right, but not now. I will tell you when it affects the mission." Janna replied, clearly trying to end the conversation.

          "It already is." Janna turned and Lux braced for her to be angry but the anger evaporated quickly.

          "I know. Please just trust me I have reasons for keeping secrets. Once I know what happened to me then I can put the pieces together, but…" her voice trailed off as Janna dropped her head onto her chest. Lux just put an arm around her friend and gazed out onto the moon. Knowing that secrets were being kept from her was something Lux expected. She knew that Vel'Koz hadn't told her everything, and that Janna was keeping something about her last major battle secret wasn't helping with team unity.

          'But she must have a good reason.' Lux thought to herself. 'It will come out in time. I just need to trust her. She hasn't given me any reason to doubt what she is saying. Yet.' Lux just kept her arm around Janna until she managed to regain control over herself.

          "Come on. Let's go. I'm sure our parents are worried." Janna finally managed to get out.

          "Good thinking but we need to find Dorcha and Solas first. They kind of got lost in the fighting."

          They both jumped from the roof and after spending just a few minutes looking, found the two poros still in the stadium on a snack stand. The four looked at each other before laughing. "You two have no shame."

          "It's good what do you want. We can't take it right?" Lux just shook her head. With slightly sad faces, the two poros jumped onto their shoulders as they left. They went about finding a spot to power down, and after doing so, they walked back home together, separating when they couldn't do so anymore. Lux walked into her house to her mother just staring.

          "You could have at least texted. Where is your brother?"

          "I thought he was out with friends?" The words just barely got off her lips when the door opened. Lux turned to see Garen with more than a few things from the Championship. The look on Garen's face was enough to send both Lux and their mother into fits of laughter.

          "So Mr. I don't like video games. Enjoy them now?" Lux finally managed to say while bracing herself on the table. Their mother was already in a chair because she couldn't stand anymore.

          "Yes." Garen said quietly and sprinted up to his room. This only caused another fit. As Lux finally managed to recover, a knock on the door pulled her back before going upstairs. Opening it, she saw Jayce.

          "Oh hello. I was hoping Garen hadn't sprinted upstairs so fast. He dropped this." Jayce handed Lux a chain which was marked with the language from the game. Lux just rolled her eyes.

          "Thank you Jayce. I'll get it to him." Lux replied, rolling her eyes again in the process.

          "Go easy on him please. We can't afford to lose our forward." Jayce said, but he knew the answer before he even finished.

          "I'm his sister. That isn't a word we know." Lux smiled as Jayce turned to leave. Lux was about to close the door when she noticed a hammer hanging from his belt that looked a lot like Debonair's hammer. But then it also looked like about 5 other ones but it still was something to look into. Lux walked up the stairs to Garen's bedroom and knocked.

          "Yes?"

          "Garen, Jayce said you dropped this?" Lux said as she opened the door. Garen turned and sighed.

          "Thanks." Garen took the chain and then went back to his computer. While Lux was walking out, she did notice several games open, but also a regimen on working out. Lux crossed the hall into her own room before finally settling down. Dorcha and Solas had already gone to sleep and Lux decided that it was probably time to join them. Changing into her pajamas, she went into a restful night sleep.

          When Janna walked in the door, her father was already sleep, with her mother still waiting up. "You had us worried, but then you always seem to get out of those situations. You could have called at least."

          "Sorry mom." Janna walked over and hugged her.

          "Just be careful, these attacks are becoming more frequent. It makes my job crazy. Things already go crazy if someone sneezes, but this just makes it worse."

          "I'll try but I can't help it if I'm always where it happens. Bad luck." Janna said, knowing that she was usually running towards it. 

          "If that is your definition of bad luck, then what's disaster?" That made both of them laugh. "Good night." Janna carefully went to her room and after making sure the door was closed, opened a chest inside her closet. Inside was just a few pictures and a diary. Grabbing the pictures, she carefully looked them over and after picking up the diary, she had almost opened it when she put them all back and just collapsed onto her bed. Zephyr who was watching from the window curled up beside her.

* * *

 

          While two of the day's combatants were getting some well deserved sleep, Kha'Zix was at the foot of Malzahar's throne, and wasn't in a good position to get any rest.

          "Kha'Zix I'm disappointed. Today's battle would have ended my trust in you, but you managed to get some energy at least. I called you back before you did something stupid. You almost cost us more than you can imagine. I cannot afford to reanimate you now, but I also cannot afford many more mistakes. The energy you gave us will allow us to keep going for the moment, but your mistakes pile up and soon or later, we will have more Guardians to deal with. Remember that."

          "What do you mean oh great prophet?"

          "The powers of the Guardians we defeated, the other 4 I should say, didn't leave Runeterra, they stayed because of the summoner magics encircling the planet. They have manifested in new Guardians. And while only one of them has awakened at the present time, the rest only wait. And finding them might be the next best thing, but that will be harder than you think. Plan your attacks accordingly. You must use stealth for the next mission. Attacking another large target like you did will only lead to issues. So will replacing people.

          "Take some time planning your next attack Kha'Zix, for if it ends in failure, you will be almost out of patience with me."

          "Of course great prophet. Of course. I will prepare for my next mission immediately."

"Good. Now go, your presence tries my patience." Kha'Zix carefully left the hall and he knew his time was almost up. He had two maybe three chances to return a success before Malzahar did away with him.

          "I will not fail this time. The Guardians will walk into my trap and then I will end them." Kha'Zix studied a list of events and saw the one he wanted to use was still a few weeks away. Struggling to remain calm, he decided to go with Malzahar's advice of a stealth option, but where. Glancing at the map of the city, he suddenly smiled and drove his blade through the heart of it. Laughing he went to find the perfect voidling.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile back on Runeterra, Vel'Koz studied the projection of Runeterra and knew the next attack would be desperate. He also knew he was running out of time before Malzahar found him. Looking to Nasus who was with him, they both turned to another creature behind them. Renekton, Nasus' brother stood. "Ready?"

          "Yes brother. I am."

          "Good then. Take this and you will know."

          "Searching for three in a massive city will be difficult."

          "But it is something you are good at."

          "True. I will do my best. But who will I be working with?"

          "I have that covered." Renekton turned to see a blonde haired individual standing there with what looked like a glove. Renekton bowed and smiled as much as he could. Following the individual out, they both set off on their quest.

          "Good luck you two." Vel'Koz said to them as they departed. "I hope they succeed."

          "They will. Renekton doesn't know how to fail."


	9. A Commuting Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the battle heats up, so does the pressure on Kha'Zix to deliver. Our Guardians need to stay on top of things, but that will get harder. Also, what was that mysterious quest and the other person sent off. Stay tuned to find out.

          As Lux looked over the city from the stop of Skypoint Tower, while Janna looked around the other side for the source of the mysterious energy that they sensed earlier, she took in its beauty, and how many people actually lived here now. People came from all over Runeterra to this city after the void almost destroyed their world. Built up around the camp that was serving the cleanup crews after that saw to the first void invasion, which is now Central Park, the city grew into one of the biggest on Runeterra. People came from all over, some with incentives for one reason or another. Others to seek a new life, and others to try and corrupt the new city. At the end of the day though, the portal was still on the outskirts, on the mountain where it originally stood.

          "You see anything or get a sense?" Lux asked

          "Nothing. I wish I could figure it out but nothing. Still though, I still get chills every time I look at this city." Janna replied as she gave a quick shudder.

          "I know what you mean. So far in such a short period of time. It really is a testament to how fast we can put the pieces back together. Come on, let's go." Lux followed Janna back down the elevator and back to the tower. The library was busier than usual and that made it a bit more difficult to get to the tower, but not impossible. Getting down to the tower, both Guardians found Vel'Koz with a worried look in his eye. Shaking their heads didn't help.

          "That is unfortunate. We need to have knowledge of where this new threat is, but Kha'Zix is being deceptively crafty with this. It is almost like he is taking every single step possible to hide his corruption, which makes our job harder." Vel'Koz said, a bit of disappointment in his voice.

          "Is it possible that he doesn't know we can feel the void sense?" Lux asked.

          "No he knows, but it is what level you can that sense it and how you can track it is what he doesn't." Vel'Koz said, some spunk returning to his voice.

          "Except that the city is flooded with trace amounts of void energy. Enough to throw everything off." Janna said with the ever so slight touch of frustration.

          "Yes and that is disturbing. I have already ruled out an attack on the water supply, as that would have its own issues. No the answer is right in front of us but we are not seeing it. What? Oh funny." Vel'Koz finished as the two started laughing. Getting the joke he walked himself into, he at least still laughed. They all stopped as Dorcha and Solas come down the tunnel from an entrance they could use. They were followed by Zepher a few seconds later. "Any luck?"

          "No. It seems the whole city is saturated with the energy, but just enough to throw us all off. Maybe he is trying to figure out how much he can get away with before it becomes too much." Dorcha said, jumping up onto

          "We also didn't seem to notice any patters. It was everywhere and yet there were pockets where it wasn't." Solas said as he joined his partner. Zephyr nodded in agreement.

          "Well that's the key then. Figure that out and we have him." Vel'Koz stated as Zepher remained quiet still.

          "I'd better get home. It's already a bit later than normal and I don't want to worry my parents." 

          "Of course Lux. Enjoy your evening. Janna a word if you please." Lux grabbed her bag and after allowing Solas and Dorcha to jump in, and headed out. Once Vel'Koz was sure they were gone, he turned to Janna. "I found this the other day down here. Care to explain?"

          Janna looked down at the photo and a look of horror came over her face. Quickly snatching it from Vel'Koz, she put it in her bag. "It's nothing. Just…"

          "Janna I'm worried about you. This isn't healthy. I know you want revenge for what happened, but letting it consume you isn't what they could have wanted." Vel'Koz tried to keep his voice neutral, but his concern won out.

          "I know. Did you put him up to this?" Janna said, turning to Zephyr with an angry look on her face.

          "No but I kept thinking I should have." He replied shortly. "We are both worried about you Janna. You need to get over this."

          "I'll get over this as soon as I know what happened. I still can't remember and now I wonder if I just blocked those memories." Janna just fell back into a chair and cried. Zephyr jumped over to her.

          "I'm sorry. I know it's hard." Zephyr said, curling up on Janna's lap.

          "It is more did I lose those memories, block them, or did I erase them myself? That is what I can't figure out. And I need to." The amount of anger in Janna's voice terrified the two a bit, but they managed to hide it. 

          "I can try and help with that, but not right now. First we need to figure out how you passed through time with no memory. Then we can try and get those memories of the fight. I also advise against looking them up." Vel'Koz again tried to keep the concern out of his voice, but again failed. 

          "I know. I'm sorry. I'll just head home." Janna grabbed her bag and headed home. Vel'Koz knew he was in the wrong there, but he also knew that this would torture her until they knew what happened. He floated back up to his office to check his voice and email and nothing. He knew he had the right people, but it might take years to figure it out.

* * *

 

          Lux slammed her fist on the table followed quickly by Garen. "Well Lux wins." Garen rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. "This was your idea."

          "Don't remind me." Garen resigned himself to pizza without his favorite toppings as Lux just smiled. She liked the fact her reaction time was faster than her brother's, but he still had speed over her. Though with all of her recent training, that was becoming less of an issue. Lux carefully waited until Garen had calmed down a bit before she left to wait for dinner.

* * *

 

          After Janna walked in the door, she carefully made her way to her room and after making sure she was alone, pulled a box out of her closet again. Opening it she carefully looked at its contents and smiled. She just sat back against her bed and enjoyed the memories. A loud slam brought her back to reality. Moving quickly, she put all of the stuff back into the box and had just barely got it back in her closet when there was a knock on her door. "Janna honey, your father will be late so I suggest you get your homework done, if you haven't already."

          "Ok mom. Janna was thankful that she would have some time to enjoy time for herself and after resisting doing exactly what Vel'Koz warned against, she instead finished the homework load she was assigned from today. Janna knew that both Vel'Koz and Lux were right, but she couldn't bring herself admit it. Revenge was never a good emotion, but she knew that she could channel it for the moment until they found what she was looking for. The thoughts in her head swirled and eventually she just had to step back. Turning on her computer, she just decided to take her mind off of things until it was time for dinner.

* * *

 

          In the Library, Vel'Koz also held a photo in his tentacle. Looking it caused him to almost cry. He quickly put it back in his drawer and turned out the window. He knew that his time of hiding was coming to a close, but there was perhaps a way to prevent Malzahar from detecting him. It was powerful void magic but with all of the void energy around the city, he just might have a chance. He turned out of his office and after heading down into the Library itself, found Nasus.

          "Nasus, please join me. I think I have an idea about a common problem for everyone. With all of this void energy, we might have a chance."

          "To say that is risky is an understatement. If one thing goes wrong, we could have major issues."

          "I know, but we should alert the Guardians, because I have another theory about all of this void energy." Nasus just looked confused. "They might be using this energy to get to a critical point. When the energy hits that point…" his thoughts trailed off and Nasus' face went from confused to terrified.

          "Why did I not think about that. We must move quickly." They both headed to the tower.

* * *

 

          Back at their houses, Lux and Janna got a ping on their phones to come to the tower as quickly as possible. After checking they wouldn't be disturbed, they, along with their companions, headed to the tower via the pens they had. Arriving, they both knew instantly that Vel'Koz had bad news.

          "Sorry to call you here so late, but I had a few revelations about this spike in void energy lately. I have two theories, both of which are supported by evidence." Lux, Janna, Dorcha, Solas, and Zepher nodded, or at least as much as possible. "My first theory is that it is just a byproduct of their attempts to harvest energy."

          "Makes sense. There is always a trace." Solas piped up.

          "Exactly. But the other theory is much darker. At a certain point, if enough void energy is in one place, it might coalesce into a portal, or into a new portal if one doesn't exist." That got everyone's attention. "To open the portal using other methods requires an enormous amount of energy, but with this void energy everywhere, they are getting it. How they are spreading is beyond me."

          "Since we have ruled out an attack on infrastructure, what about using some kind of airbone thing." Lux's choice of words got stares from everyone. "Well I don't know we've seen him fly."

          "True, but Kha'Zix can't fly for long distances. No there is another solution right in front of us, but what it is must be so obvious that we aren't looking at it, or it is subtle enough to evade us. Perhaps both." Dorcha stepped in before Vel'Koz could get another word out.

          "Exaclty. Now I also have a solution to this void energy problem. When I was left behind, I kept a void collection device, it isn't a big one, but enough to get all of the void energy."

          "What's the catch?" Janna asked.

          "It will take time. It can collect it all, but it will take almost a week at present energy saturation. It will also be obvious that something is draining it. Now, we don't know Malzahar's plan, but I am confident that he might be working a combination of the two theories. Either way, we need to drain this void energy so we can get a positive reading on where it is coming from." Vel'Koz stated 

          "Right."

          "I also have a void shield. It will hide the collector for a while, but not indefinitely. So we need to pick a central location and set it up." Vel'Koz said, turning to a city map. Lux and Janna carefully thought before they looked at each other.

          "Starpoint Tower. There are plenty of places around the base to hide this and I think we can hide it well enough to get a reading on the outskirts."

          "Do it then. I will carry the device and drive you two to the location, but I would suggest being transformed when you place the device. Come." Vel'Koz just nodded. Lux and Janna quickly turned to each other again.

          "Star Guardian Power Up." In a flash they were both transformed, and they turned to Nasus, who had dark cloaks ready for them. Quickly throwing them on, they helped Nasus load the void collector in the only truck the Library owned that wasn't marked yet. The ride to the location was unnerving as they all sensed the void energy all around them and Lux in the back, while Janna up front keeping an eye out wasn't helping. They didn't talk for really no reason apart from the whole 'secret mission cloak and dagger' sort of thing they were on.

          Arriving at Starpoint tower, Nasus stayed in the truck keeping an eye out for the nighttime security, while Lux and Janna carefully managed to place the void collector near the base of the tower and flip it on. Looking back at the truck, Lux saw Nasus was still keeping an eye out and hadn't seen anything yet. Just as they were about to leave, a flashlight blinded them both. "Ok. Let's see some hands." A voice barked out. Lux immediately recognized it, and after turning to Janna, she lowered the hood on her cloak. The light went off immediately.

          "If you two could kindly not go around in dark cloaks, it would make this go a lot better." Janna had also lowered her hood at this point.

          "Sorry ma'am." Lux was being very careful with her words, while Janna noticed Nasus had taken cover in the truck to prevent being seen. Vel'Koz's work with the Guardians was still secret and they had to keep it that way. "We are just trying to find the source of the void energy in the city. Surely you have noticed it is chillier of late." Janna was impressed at Lux's word choice, making her sound much older than she appeared. "We have set up a device here that would allow us to collect the void energy to hopefully help us find the source."

          "I'm assuming Vel'Koz doesn't know you have it?" Caitlyn asked. That caught them both off guard.

          "I'm guessing he will eventually, but perhaps you could help with that. We only borrowed it since we figured he might have one."

          "I will tell him. Now get back to well wherever you two spend your time is. And next time just come to me. Please." Caitlyn walked away and after waving saw a yordle following her. Clearly someone who was on a ride along and didn't expect to get into this. Lux just smiled and thought she looked familiar, but brushed it off.

          "Well that could have been a lot worse." Lux said, breathing a sigh of relief. 

          "No kidding, but at least this way Vel is covered and the police know about the device. Let's get back to the tower before someone misses us." Janna replied, her voice betraying her relief as well. Lux and Janna sprinted for the truck pulling their cloaks on as they went. Nasus managed to hide himself in the back, somehow, and Janna took the wheel and managed to carefully drive them back to the museum. When they arrived, they noticed Caitlyn already there and after taking a quick peak, Lux did notice the yordle there. She was sitting the front seat and was just waiting apparently. She again seemed familiar but couldn't place it.

          The three of them carefully made their way back into the museum where Nasus carefully made his way to Vel'Koz's office to play his part, while Lux and Janna made their way back to the tower. Inside they both powered down and carefully made their way back through the museum to listen to Caitlyn's conversation with Vel'Koz. Once they were close enough to his office, they both went through a secret door that allowed them to see what was going on the office while still remaining concealed.

          "I don't have an explanation for it Madam. I did check and it was gone, but I fail to see the public security risk. If anything it will help. It was designed to drain void energy, not normal energy." Vel'Koz told Caitlyn, who as looking annoyed that he really didn't care. Or at least appeared to be.

          "And why is that?" Vel'Koz was floating behind his desk while Nasus was by the door, and Caitlyn was in a chair.

          "It was so that they could recover energy from destroyed minions or when leaving an area, bring as much energy as we could. I have a few theories about all of this void energy. Maybe if the Guardians had let me in on their plan, they might have been able to help prove or disprove my theories. I wish them the best." Vel'Koz finished, and his tone was more to end the conversation than anything.

          "Scared of your former companions?" Caitlyn asked, noticing a tremble in Vel'Koz's voice

          "Scared? No. Terrified and you should be too." Vel'Koz said, taking Caitlyn by surprise, but she hid it well.

          "I am. I just hide it well." Caitlyn replied, keeping her voice collected. 

          "That you do. If there is nothing else then I do have a few things I'd like to do tonight while everyone is sleeping. One of the nice things about being voidborn, no sleeping necessary apart from a brief hibernation period every year." Vel'Koz said, with a slight uptake in his voice.

          "I can see why. This place must be peaceful at night." Caitlyn said as she looked around.

          "Indeed it is. Now if anything else goes missing I will let you know, but considering I didn't even notice that was gone, because I don't use it anymore, the Guardians probably will come to me sooner or later." Caitlyn gave a quick nod and headed out the door. After making sure she was really gone, Lux and Janna emerged from the wall. "Well my cover is intact, for now. That was a nice job you all did with your quick thinking. Now we just have to wait to see if either of my theories are proven right."

          Lux and Janna made their way back to the tower and finally home. It seems like they weren't missed as they both changed and got into bed for tomorrow. Hopefully the void energy will be less annoying then.

* * *

 

          "Kha'Zix I hope you aren't trying to reopen the portal with this energy. There is way too much spread all over the place."

          "That is the point Rek'Sai. We hide our plan in plain sight while the Guardians wander around aimlessly. We can't get to critical mass with the little energy we have left, but this allows us to harvest what we can almost directly. This plan is going…"

          "Don't count your victories before they happen Kha'Zix. The Guardians are no doubt trying to find out what you are doing." Cho'Gath said as he wandered into the room.

          "I know that. But I also know that it will be difficult. There is so much energy spread all over the place that pinpointing our sources will be difficult."

          "Indeed." The voice got all three to turn around. Malzahar was floating there. "This is an interesting plan. Now how do you propose to collect all of that energy and when? We need it Kha'Zix and quickly."

          "I know great prophet. I was hoping to get one more day out of the process, then scoop up everything tomorrow night and bring it back here. Even if the Guardians intervene, they can't stop all of the collectors."

          "Yes but be careful. I sense something amiss below on the planet. I don't know what, but I think our plans will be interrupted yet again. Meanwhile, I have a personal plan set in motion. Something I will take charge of personally. Continue, but I need at least 50% of that energy Kha'Zix. No excuses. This time, if you get caught, it is your fault."

          "Yes prophet." Even though the tension in the room could be cut with a knife, all three voidlings turned to each other. Malzahar had always gotten others to do his bidding, but for him to undertake a plan by himself was something that caught all three off guard.

          "Well whatever he is planning, I don't like it. His plans are overly ambitious and usually have a critical fault."

          "Don't let him hear you say that Cho'Gath."

          "Don't worry burrower. I won't. and if he does, well, I guess I have dinner with two." The large beast wandered out while Rek'Sai turned to Kha'Zix. Despite all of their fighting, one voidling's success was everyone's success, and likewise with failure. Kha'Zix turned back to the image of the city showing it almost at peak saturation. While there was enough energy there to reopen the void portal, it also required a massive amount of void energy to properly utilize it. Something they didn't have. Kha'Zix noticed a pattern switching in the summoner magics and quickly made his way back down to Runeterra.

* * *

 

          Lux could barely wake up the next morning for school but she did notice a drop in the void energy, if only a little. Perhaps Vel'Koz's device was working but it was also possible they were getting used to it or there was so much that it felt normal. Any of the options weren't good. Lux made her way downstairs where Garen was laughing at the TV weatherwoman trying to explain the cold snap they were in. 'I know exactly why but if I say anything I'm going to be looked at like an idiot. So just stay quiet.' Lux ate her breakfast quickly and began the walk to school.

          "Lux come on girl wait up." Lux turned to see Amy running to catch up. "You could have waited you know."

          "I did. You were late this time." Amy looked at her watch, then back at Lux with her tongue out.

          "Fine, but this is so weird. Jackets and hoddies at this time of the year. It's just so weird. Also your parents don't take public transit right?"

          "My mom does. My dad drives to work. Why?"

          "You didn't hear? There are people who are just falling asleep on buses and trains and could barely be woken up. It's so strange." Amy's voice kept going but Lux tuned it out. Whipping out her phone, she sent Janna a text. 'Public transport.'

          Janna, who was trying to get out the door, heard her phone buzz and after quickly grabbing it, saw a message from Lux. Reading it, she dropped the brush she was using on her hair. 'That makes sense. It's everywhere and in plain sight. Message Vel. See what he wants us to do.' Janna quickly picked up her brush and after hugging her parents goodbye, grabbed her bag and ran out.

          Lux was trying to hold a conversation with Amy while messaging Vel'Koz at the same time. Amy seemed to take it as she was trying to get something done, so she just went on with yes or no questions. "So you have a boyfriend or what?"

          "Nice try." Lux said as it was now her turn to stick her tongue out.

          "Oh you are no fun." Amy said, trying to reply but couldn't. 

* * *

 

          Vel'Koz was doing his morning rounds when he got an alert on the bracelet he wore. Initially hating this thing, he now found it invaluable, considering he couldn't carry a phone, nor did he trust them, but a messaging program he created allowed him, Lux, Janna, Nasus, and Renekton's scout group to communicate in private. He quickly made his way up to the computer, seeing the message from Lux, he the equivalent of falling back into his chair, which means he feel onto the floor. It made perfect sense, and it was also brilliant.

          'Don't do anything. He will probably collect tonight. Be ready.' He sent back to Lux and Janna. Both of them acknowledged the message while carefully hiding their phones from their ever present teachers. Lux now knew with a fight approaching, that the day would drag on, but no sooner than did she think about it, that the bell for lunch rang. Since the schools were close, Janna and Lux made arraignments to meet. There was a park about mid way between the two schools where they finally saw each other.

          "Well this day is going by faster than expected." Lux said as she sat down.

          "Speak for yourself. My day is dragging on." Janna replied. She was clearly annoyed but didn't held something back.

          "Yeah but things could be worse. At least our night will be interesting. How do you think Kha'Zix will collect the energy?" Lux grabbed a part of her lunch as she spoke. 

          "Probably using collectors all over the city. Vel's has collected enough for him to do what he wants with and hopefully we can prevent Kha'Zix from getting away with too much." Janna replied. 

          "Agreed. Incoming." Lux and Janna quickly changed topic as Garen approached.

          "So you two do know each other well?" He asked sitting down.

          "Hard to forget someone who knocks you over." Janna said, trying to keep from laughing. 

          "True. Janna I hate to pull you away, but you said you would help me with that homework." Garen said as he pulled his notebook. 

          "Just pull it out. I'm sure your sister knows." Janna said, grabbing hers. 

          "Who do you think helped him before." Lux managed a quick laugh before turning to Garen's math homework. While he was quite intelligent, math was always an issue. After 20 minutes they all managed to get the work done to where Garen understood it.

          "Thanks again. Sorry for interrupting." Garen made his way back, while Lux and Janna also packed up and headed their separate ways. For Janna the afternoon passed much faster and for Lux it was almost like it didn't happen. There were a great deal of things that were thrown at them, but they managed to get to the end of the day. Heading out of school quickly, they ran for the tower. Reaching it, they were careful to pay attention to the energies in the city as they waited for Kha'Zix to make his move.

          A short while later, Vel'Koz entered the tower and seeing the two Guardians, made him visibly relax a bit. "He'll probably make his move after the rush hour. That way he can get the most energy. Also there is something to note. The energy here is enough to reopen the portal, but they also require a large amount of energy already stored to do that. Considering their operations lately, I would assume that they don't have it and this is their solution to it."

          "Good then we can stop them." Lux said, standing up.

          "We can't stop them all, we have to know where these collectors are placed first and shut down as many as possible." Janna reminded her, and Lux looked a bit put out.

          "Good thinking, but there are probably hundreds. They are small like the one I gave you, but their collection devices would be the same. Breaking the orb would scatter the energy, but it wouldn't go anywhere. Unlike the energy he's collected before, this is direct void energy. He's converting it directly here, which is normally something we wouldn't do because it was vulnerable to Guardian interference. However, this time there isn't a risk of that. Or as big of a risk." Vel'Koz clarified.

          "So what we have to wait for him to begin?" Lux asked.

          "Yes. We do." Janna and Lux just bowed their heads in frustration. Waiting wasn't something either of them was good at. They both went back home to wait for the cold to lift, a clear sign that Kha'Zix had begun harvesting. The evening seemed to stretch on until it was after dark, they both noticed the air temperature starting to increase. Looking outside, they knew it was time.

          Carefully making their way outside, both of them managed to get by parents and siblings to be in the clear. Meeting at a secluded park, they both waited until they got the clear from Vel'Koz to transform. Vel'Koz, for his part, was watching the temperature of the area, once it hit a certain point, Kha'Zix would have to go around to empty the collectors and refresh them. That is what he was waiting for. As he watched, the temperature stopped increasing. Messaging the two Guardians, 'go'.

          "Star Guardian Power Up." Both transformed and quickly headed for Starpoint Tower. Looking just from the base, it wasn't hard to find a large bug like creature near city hall. They both moved quickly and as they approached, they were almost hit with an orb.

          "Useless. This thing is broken." Kha'Zix turned to where he threw the orb to see his most annoying people. "Great, you two tricked me somehow. I don't know how but I will find out."

          "Dream on. We are the Star Guardians you crazy monster. Sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you."

          "Seriously. Again? You just do that to annoy me don't you?" Kha'Zix laughed as he finished. 

          "Also this." Lux said. Kha'Zix turned and barely had time to avoid a tornado from Janna and was then hit with an energy blast. Lux turned to see Debonair there, waiting and ready.

          "The link between temperature and void energy wasn't that hard to make. Need a hand?" Debonair asked.

          "Yeah find the minion." Lux replied, and he nodded. 

          "Good luck." Kha'Zix roared and attempted to prevent Debonair from escaping, but was hit with Lux's binding and Zephyr to slow him down. Debonair was gone before Kha'Zix could stop him. That flew him into a rage, only to get hit by a tornado full in the face. Lux to advantage of the knock up to blast Kha'Zix with a singularity and Janna threw a shield on herself as Kha'Zix attempted to attack her, but was repulsed by the shield and then Lux's barrier as he attempted to turn on her.

          Kha'Zix jumped into the air and managed to rip open a portal before retreating. Janna and Lux quickly turned around to see where he had gone to but only to see him on top of City Hall again throwing orbs into the portal. Lux decided it was enough. Gripping her baton she focused her energy and jumped into the air. "Final Spark." Kha'Zix had enough warning to avoid it this time, but when he turned, he saw the refinery was ruined and the remaining orbs were useless. He threw them at the two Guardians before fleeing across the rooftops. Lux and Janna were quick to pursue.

          While lacking the sense of the Guardians for void energy, Debonair was still able to rely on his other senses. Mainly the colder it got, the closer he probably was. Reaching the City's public works building, he was almost freezing. Climbing to the roof, he saw what he wanted, the minion. Carefully changing out orbs to keep the refinery going. Knowing that only the Guardians could corrupt the void energy to prevent it from being used, he instead decided to go after the refinery. Transforming his hammer, he threw out his gates, than an energy pulse. It hit clean on.

          The minion turned around in surprise, but that quickly turned to anger. "It seems I have a guest. I do apologize for the state of things. I wasn't expecting company." With that he lashed out and charged at Debonair, but was instead met with his hammer. Lacking the defenses of the Guardians however, he did get a nice scratch on his arm for his troubles. Grunting, he turned to meet the next attack.

          Again the minion charged and again was hit with the hammer, Debonair managed to dodge the scratches however and hit the minion with an energy pulse has he moved around the roof.

          "You don't play nice. I want you to leave now. People who hurt me aren't welcome here."

          "You attacked first. I just defended myself."

          "Exactly." He charged again, and this time he managed to dodge the hammer, but was hit with the pommel as he tried to scratch Debonair again. For his part, Debonair did get a scratch in the leg, worse than the arm, but the pommel strike followed by a full hammer hit was enough to send the minion running for cover. "No one has ever defeated the great Larn. You will not be the first to fall to me." He said attempting to throw Debonair off of his trail.

          Looking around, Debonair noticed the orbs, and knew that he could put Larn into possibly going to scatter them. He moved towards the orbs but was quickly diving himself as Larn jumped on him, or attempted to. His kick however landed and sent Debonair into a wall. Debonair was shaking off the impact when Larn charged again. His arms had become blades and he was preparing to swing, when a light formed around him, sending Larn flying backward. Looking up, Debonair noticed Janna standing there. "Need help?"

          "From you? Always." Debonair got to his feet when he noticed the large amount of orbs that were there were now missing. Looking around, they saw a void portal closing. It seems that Kha'Zix was attempting to get as many as possible and was doing a good job of it. Larn had also vanished, probably through the portal. They took out two refineries however and that was just the start. "Were is your partner?"

          "We split up to find the refineries. I heard your fight and thought you might need a hand. There are two more in the city and I know where my partner is going, so we should head to the other one."

"Well let's not waste time then." Janna carefully lifted the two of them off the roof and they took off towards one of the sports stadiums to intercept the one Lux wasn't going to.

* * *

 

          For her part, Lux wasn't having much better luck. Following her senses she arrived at the Yarni tower to find Kha'Zix had already gotten away with the orbs and the refinery. He apparently didn't have time to get his second stash as she found that and send the orbs shattering. Only one refinery was left. Lux thought why weren't there more, but not having gotten a look at one of them yet, she probably reasoned they were bigger than she thought. She left the tower and sprinted towards the stadium.

          Already there, Janna and Debonair scoped out the site and found the refinery with relative ease. However it was already destroyed and the orbs were still there. Debonair just looked puzzled, but after a quick examination, Janna noticed telltale marks of both Vel'Koz and Nasus on the refinery, along with the fact it was an elaborate fake. Probably they took one so they could study it. "Well, clearly someone else doesn't like these things. So that's all four where would the last one be. Clearly there is another." Janna threw a tornado as she spoke shattering the orbs.

          "Well where would the best location be. Where has it been the coldest?"

          "The portal." They both sprinted towards the large abandoned warehouse near the portal ruins. Previously, it held the materials that were being used to clean up the site, and was occasionally used by companies from time to time. It was also the coldest point during this whole thing, and since it was infrequently used, it was also the perfect place for a large collector as it was out of the way and no one would care to look there. While they were running, they almost literally ran into Lux and after a few quick explanations, the three of them were running towards the refinery. However the site they found wasn't the one they expected, nor in the manner they expected.

          Surrounding the warehouse was a full police presence. Lux and Janna carefully made their way to the barricade, where they were allowed to pass by the officers. Lux had to try hard to not show recognition as her father was one of the officers there. Debonair somehow made his way through the barricade and joined them as they approached the warehouse. Lux was waiting by the front door when Janna shook her head and they made their way around to a back door where Debonair was already waiting.

          "Well, kick the door."

          "With pleasure." Debonair smashed the door with his hammer and they all spilled in to see a very surprised Kha'Zix who had clearly expected them through another door. Also clearly not expected them.

          "Well it seems my plan has been found out but I was expecting those useless police to knock down the door and not you three. Oh well. I guess this will be easy then."

          "You wish." Lux threw a binding that while missing Kha'Zix hit Larn who roared in rage. Transforming his arms into blades again, it was clear they would be getting more cuts during the fight. Lux threw a barrier on Janna and Debonair while Janna responded in kind as they were charged by Kha'Zix who's spikes did get mostly absorbed but Janna and Lux took a few in the arm and leg respectively. Fighting through the pain they both went after Larn who was only just getting out of the binding. Debonair went after Kha'Zix and managed to get a hit with his energy pulse dodging out of the way of Larn's blades.

          Lux quickly threw a singularity at them both while Janna sent Zephyr to slow down Larn and it just barely half worked. Debonair dodged the blade, but still got a cut on his uninjured leg. Now clearly in pain he collapsed after dodging on the floor. Lux threw another singularity and a binding hoping to get both, but only hit Kha'Zix who jumped back into the fight only to be rooted in place. Lux threw a couple of bolts at the two of them, but it didn't exactly hold them back. Kha'Zix charged again, but Lux managed to bind him, but took a blade from Larn in her other arm. Also falling to the floor, she still somehow managed to get her baton moving to create a barrier over Janna as Larn and Kha'Zix went after her.

          Janna watched carefully and she also looked at Debonair and Lux as they both struggled to get to their feet. Moving just a bit she turned to her attackers as her hand gripped her staff. As they both jumped, Janna grabbed her staff and focused her energy, creating a monsoon inside the building. The resulting wind threw back Kha'Zix and Larn, shattered some of the orbs in the building, and provided the much needed healing to Debonair and Lux. With all three of them back on their feet, they all turned to the two voidlings, who were now the ones slow to get to their feet. The fact they flew through a few shelving units probably didn't help with that.

          Kha'Zix managed to recover first, and turning to Larn he nodded. Larn went after the three while Kha'Zix managed to rip open a void portal to get the remaining orbs through. Lux, seeing this, turned to Janna, who quickly slowed Larn, Debonair hit him into another wall with a very loud and satisfying thud, Janna then sent a tornado after the orbs, while Lux also threw a singularity at the same target. Kha'Zix seeing his time was up, jumped through and closed the portal. The tornado and singularity shattered the remaining orbs. Turning to Larn, it was clear that he was in trouble.

          Janna again sent Zephyr to slow him while Debonair knocked him into another wall before hitting him with a charged energy pulse. "Do it." Lux drew her hand across her baton and focused her powers before charging her beam.

          "Final Spark." Her beam instantly hit Larn who disintegrated. "Dusted. Finally. Now let's get out of here. I'm not sure how you will but we'll try to distract the police."

          "No need. I can get out on my own. Just do your thing. I'll be find. Thanks for the heal by the way." He said turning to Janna who just nodded in return.

          "You had best be going. It won't take them long to enter." She said. Debonair quickly made his way out of the building and somehow managed to get through the barrier. Lux and Janna made themselves look like it was nothing before heading out the front door. The headlights from the police vehicles were immediately dimmed as they saw who was exiting. Lux turned to try and see Caitlyn but she was absent. Vi instead approached.

          "If you are looking for the chief, she is currently sleeping at her desk. Now can I assume that the problem is solved?" Lux and Janna just nodded. "Good now we can clean this up. For all the trouble you cause, it causes a lot of mess. Thankfully the less work we have to do, the less paperwork I have to do, and more experience for some with cleaning up things. Also training for new officers. Now excuse me."

          "She is rather blunt."

          "Yep. That's her way. Caitlyn is the grace, she's the muscle. Who also loves punching things with those hextech gloves. But let's go before I get the urge to talk to my dad for no reason."

          "Good idea." Lux and Janna made their way through the crowd only to run into Vel'Koz on the edge of the police zone.

          "So you are the two who borrowed my collector." It was a statement not a question. "Well I have already collected it so there is no need to return it. If you two need something in the future, or need advice, I'm sure you two know where to call." Lux and Janna began walking away as it was clear that staying for what Vel'Koz said next would be extremely suspicious.

          Vel'Koz shifted to private telepathy. "Good job. I collected one of the collectors as I'm sure you noticed. Now meet me back at the tower in about an hour. I should have a few answers to what was going on. And perhaps more information. Again good job, hopefully we won't need you two for a while so you can rest." Vel'Koz made his way to the warehouse and entered it while Lux and Janna continued their way through the zone and only once leaving it, Lux was ready to power down, but was stopped by Janna who pointed to a cruiser. Inside was the same yordle from the other night, and while her attention seemed to be focused on the action at the warehouse, powering down in plain sight wasn't a good idea.

          Eventually finding a secluded spot and making sure they were really alone, they both powered down and headed home. Keeping an eye on the clock they waited to return to the tower. Back in her room, Lux saw Dorcha and Solas waiting for her. "Everything go well?"

          "Not really, Kha'Zix got away with a few of the collectors and a lot of energy."

          "That's pretty bad but given one theory Vel'Koz was talking to us about, it is probably not as bad as we think. When did he say to meet?"

          "In about 20 minutes." Lux sank onto her bed and just picked up her phone and read news articles and browsed around while waiting for the 20 minutes to pass. When it finally did, she picked up the pen and created a portal to the tower. Entering it, she saw Janna already there, along with Nasus, but Vel'Koz was still absent.

          "He said he'd only be another minute or two. Or now." Nasus changed as the door opened.

          "Sorry. But my theories were both correct. There was enough void energy to recreate the portal, but the problem is that it also needs a large amount of void energy to incuse the energy already present to coalesce into a portal. They don't have it. That is what this was about. Getting void energy. As I'm sure you noticed, Nasus and myself recovered a collector and found that it is only a scaled up version of the one I provided you. Now with the void energy we collected, I have enough to reinforce the magics around the planet, making it harder for them to get in."

          "Wouldn't it be better if we saved it in case they did mount an attack against them?" Vel'Koz, who was looking proud, suddenly changed his expression.

          "Not a bad idea Janna. Not a bad idea at all. Let's go with that plan. Keeping the void energy here isn't going to hurt me, or anything else here, just make my lab colder than it already is."

          "Which is already freezing." Nasus piped up. Vel'Koz just shrugged. Or at least as best he could. Lux nodded but could do little else, she was so tired. "Vel, why don't we let the two of them go. They are clearly tired. Anything else can wait for tomorrow can't it?"

          "Of course." Lux and Janna quickly walked out and back to their rooms where they feel asleep instantly. Once they were gone Nasus turned to Vel'Koz.

          "I have misgivings about what they were doing."

          "As do I. Clearly they were trying to gather as much energy as possible. That means two things. They are going to attack a major target soon and they desperately needed energy."

          "What could they attack?" Nasus turned and no sooner than he did that did he stop and turn back around. Vel'Koz looked at him worried. "I know." Nasus pulled out the tablet that was kept in the tower for whatever was needed and after moving through news stories, quickly found what he was looking for. Turning the tablet over, all of Vel'Koz's eyes went wide.

          "Oh no." he said.

**So what is this target? Stay tuned to find out. It will be one chilly story.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now it's time to make some more introductions. Too bad the welcoming party is so cold.

          Lux was barely awake the next morning and Janna was nodding off as they waited for Vel'Koz to finish opening the Library for the day to come back. Just when Janna seemed to fall asleep, he entered followed closely by Nasus. The door opening jolted Janna awake and brought Lux back to reality, instead of the daydream she was having where she was still in bed with a poro on her head. She then felt the top of her head to find Solas sleeping there. Picking him up, she put him on the counter, where he somehow managed to roll off and onto the floor.

          "Sorry to call you in so early, but I have been able to determine what was going on yesterday and what will be happening. I'm sure you both are aware of the upcoming visit of the Freljord Royal Family. Nasus here suggested and I agree that this will be their target. It will be a public event and it will have schools out and a lot of people in one spot. I also was able to confirm something last night that is both disturbing and relaxing at the same time." That got the attention of everyone present.

          "I was able to confirm that the amount of void energy in the area was enough to reconstitute the portal, but one thing they were missing was already present void energy that had been refined. They must be running extremely low on energy to not put whatever they had to reopen a large portal. Now I cannot know how much energy they collected last night, but they did get away with a lot. It isn't pure yet, they will still have to refine it, but whatever they are doing and whatever they are planning, they will be at this event."

          Lux and Janna both nodded. "So what can we do in the meantime?" Solas was still on the floor, both taking in by Vel'Koz's comments and his own embarrassment to not try and get back up.

          "We can scout the area, probably best left to you three." Vel'Koz indicated Solas, Dorcha, and Zephyr. "You can get in and out of those areas easier than I, Nasus, Lux, or Janna could. It also wouldn't be as much out of place for especially Zephyr. Cats area always getting into weird places." All three nodded. "Good. Now let us begin."

          Lux and Janna grabbed their bags, and headed back through individual portals and dropped back off to sleep. Their sleepiness wouldn't be settled by just a few hours sleep, especially after last night. Vel'Koz meanwhile took the void energy he had stored and carefully moved it so that Nasus would be able to get access to it in an emergency. While it was extremely dangerous, he could us it stop an incursion at the risk of corruption. Vel'Koz had already used some of the energy to better shield himself against Malzahar's vision, but he also kept enough in storage to reinforce the magics surrounding Runeterra if needed.

          Once they had both recovered, which was close to noon, Lux and Janna finally got out of bed. They were thankful it was a weekend but the threat of the looming battle held over both of their heads. It was just 3 days away and even though only two days would be of school, it was still going to be torture. Since they needed the day off, both of them just went into almost a daze as they just went about the rest of the day. Mostly because they were gaming all day. That night they both got a relaxing night of sleep.

* * *

 

          The following day, Lux called Amy to go shopping, while Janna decided to game all day.

          "You know, it has been a while since we did this." Amy said as they left yet another store.

          "I know, but it's not like it hasn't been crazy lately." Lux replied, as she smiled.

          "True. It just seems like there is more and more craziness every day. Hopefully that upcoming visit won't be too bad." Amy said, turning to Lux and smiling.

          "Hopefully it will stop soon but who knows. It just seems to be getting worse." Lux's voice just trailed off as she went back into thought.

          "Well at least we have that parade in two days to look forward too." Amy said, trying to cheer Lux up, who faked it well enough.

          "Well there's that." 'And another void attack along with it.' Lux thought to herself. As she and Amy made their way to the food court, Lux noticed Janna on the main level and while she was hesitant to wave, what got her attention is who she was with. Jayce was with her and they seemed to be chatting it up. 'Well at least it isn't Garen.' Who Lux promptly spotted about 10 feet behind carrying bags. 'Or not. He always has to be the gentleman doesn't he?'

          Eating lunch with Amy brought Lux back to the days before she became a Guardian. Where the only things on her mind were school and boys. Amy kept poking Lux for conversation and she responded to in kind while still allowing her mind to drift. As they were both leaving, Lux noticed Garen, Janna, and Jayce with a lot of bags as they made their way out.

          "Oh you know you want to." Amy said as Lux kept her eye on them. Lux just waved her hand and they both sprinted off in pursuit. It was clear that Jayce had a car as well as he helped Garen load the bags into the trunk as Janna made her way into the car. Lux grabbed her phone as Amy just giggled beside her.

          'Nice to have some lackeys isn't it?' In the car, Janna took out her phone and barely suppressed her laughter.

          'Yes it is. These two are practically tripping over themselves.' Lux just rolled her eyes at the response before another came. 'Meet at tower later or after school tomorrow?'

          'Tomorrow. Let's just enjoy the day off.'

          'Couldn't agree more.' Janna put her phone back as she turned to the back seat. "Are you two sure that you know what you are doing?"

          "We're fine." Jayce grunted as he pushed in a few bags. Janna knew that all three of them had overdone it, but she still stepped out of the car. Her heels clicking on the pavement, she got to the back. Seeing the disaster in the trunk, she just shook her head.

          "Ok. I'm doing this. Get in." Janna pulled everything out as Jayce and Garen watched. Janna carefully repacked the entire trunk by which bag belonged to which person and made it much more organized. "We can go now." She said as she closed the trunk while both boys stood there with stupefied looks on their faces. Janna was tempted to take a shot for Lux, but she couldn't get her phone out fast enough.

          Arriving home, Janna carefully carried her bags up to her room and quickly set about putting all of the new clothes away. Then, turning back to her computer, quickly set up and started streaming.

          Lux for her part, helped Garen with his bags when he arrived home. Since their parents would be out that evening, Lux decided to cook and Garen didn't complain. He barely knew his way around a kitchen, let alone cook something. It wasn't for lack of trying however. As Lux finished, they both sat together for what felt like the first time in ages.

          "So did some shopping today?" Lux asked.

          "So did you. I saw you with Amy at the mall." Garen replied, trying to keep from the stinging embarrassment.

          "Yeah. Just needed a day off I guess. Everything going on lately has been chaos." Lux said, knowing much more than she would ever let on.

          "I know. Hey have you noticed anything interesting about Jayce lately? He's always tired and has a few unexplained injuries." Garen asked, and Lux turned her head.

          "No why? I don't see him much. You do." SHe got a bit short, but Garen could see she was poking him.

          "Just wanted some confirmation. I guess I'll just have ask a few of the others." Garen resigned himself to that fact.

          "You do that. I just don't see him enough to say for certain." Lux said as she took another bite.

          "Well thanks. I'll clean up go." Lux carefully made her way upstairs and a thought crossed her mind.

          "Something on your mind Lux?" Dorhca spoke up seeing her enter with a troubled look on her face.

          "Just something Garen just said. I know you have your hands, err paws full right now, but if there is something you can do." Lux replied sitting down.

          "Sure." Solas piped up.

          "Well Garen said that Jayce appeared to have unexplained injuries as of late. Now given they both do a lot of sports it isn't unheard of but if it worries Garen then it worries me. He might be a disguise for Kha'Zix or something." Lux said though a sigh.

          "We'll look into it. Your phone." Dorcha said, and Lux turned to see a text.

          'We need to meet. Tower?'

          'Sure.' Lux grabbed the pen and quickly found herself at the tower where she waited for Janna. She came along shortly later.

          "Sorry but I noticed something. Have you felt it lately?" Janna said as she entered the tower.

          "Felt what?" Lux was now curious.

          "There's another presence that is close. I can't pick it out, but it is there." Janna sat down and put her head in her hands.

          "What did it feel like?" Lux asked, now beyond curious.

          "Comforting. Warm. Familiar." That last word just hung on Janna's lips for a second before her eyes widened. "Of course I'm an idiot." She walked across the room quickly so that Lux, Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr could barely keep up. Entering the Library, Janna made a b-line for Vel'Koz's office. Entering it, they found him just looking out the window.

          "I do ask patrons to knock at least before they…oh it's you two. What is it?" Vel'Koz took notice of Janna's face and immediately came out from around his desk.

          "I think another Guardian will appear soon. There is this sense of familiarity. I can't explain it." Janna said as she started pacing around the office.

          "Well judging by Lux's confused face, I'm guessing that she hasn't sensed anything either. I haven't, but that also don't mean anything. Both you and Lux had powerful energy, but this one, might be trying to hide or doesn't yet know. We need to find out who it is. I'm sure you have seen them before, so rack your brains and perhaps you will come to a conclusion. I wish I could be of more help, but this time, I'm lost, and probably will be for the remaining ones." Vel'Koz attempted to defuse Janna's racing mind with some facts, and it seemed to work.

          Lux and Janna just nodded as they took it in. Looking around his office, Vel'Koz just kept looking at Janna who was still puzzled trying to recall that feeling and where she'd felt it. Eventually she just sighed and fell into a chair with her head in her hands.

          "If you can't remember, then that's fine. I'm sure we'll figure it out. Don't beat yourself up over it." Lux put a hand on Janna's shoulder as she kicked the leg of the chair in frustration. "Perhaps we can use these remaining two days to figure out who it is so we can get to them before the upcoming fight."

          Janna pulled her head out of her hands with a smile. "Yeah your right. Perhaps we just need to look. I know I've felt that when we were on a mission, but I can't remember where. I'm sure I'll get it eventually." Janna stood back up and made a move to exit. Lux shrugged and after looking at Vel'Koz, who just nodded, as best he could, she followed. Following Janna back into the tower, she made ready to head back home, when her phone buzzed. Janna turned as she was about to walk through as Lux read the message.

          'Lux please come to the police station.'

          "It's from my dad. He's asked me to come to the station. Want to come?" Janna smiled.

          "Yes. We might be able to learn something about the plans for the upcoming visit. I'll grab Zephyr and you grab Dorcha and Solas. They might be able to snoop around while we talk or whatever your father wants us to do." Janna said as she stood up.

          "Great thinking. I'll meet you there." Janna disappeared through her portal. Lux had just barely stepped through hers when Garen knocked on the closed door.

          "Lux dad wants us at the station. Want to walk or drive?" Lux thought it over quickly, and since her dad had asked both of them to come, brining Janna might seem out of place, unless they had plans already. Late as it was, they might just enjoy a walk around the park.

          "Drive. And I was planning to meet Janna. Any way we could give her a lift and on the way back you could drop us at the park?"

          "Sure. Let's go." Garen said as he started walking down the stairs. Lux grabbed her bag, and Dorcha and Solas jumped in. Lux followed Garen to the garage and after a few seconds, where Lux slipped Janna a text, they were off. Janna was waiting in front of her house for Garen for just a few minutes when they pulled up. Janna climbed in back while Garen drove them to the station. Having done this before, they knew where to park and just after getting out, they let Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr run.

          Entering the station, finding their father wasn't hard. He had his own office they had been to more than once. They knocked as they entered.

          "Ah Luxanna, Garen, and who are you sorry?"

          Lux briefly rolled her eyes at her full name, which her father used under stress. "Dad this is Janna. She's a friend. We were going to walk in the park later, so I figured bringing her along wasn't going to hurt?" She left that as a question to get reaction.

          "No it's fine. I'm just stressed out a bit. This upcoming visit has everyone in overdrive. Now as I'm sure you are aware, schools will be closed, so I wanted to give you these." Lux and Garen rolled their eyes as he opened his desk. Janna was looking between the three of them only to see their faces change expression a mere seconds later. "I'm not as worried in the past. Just having these on you might help if there is another attack, which we are expecting." In his outstretched hand were two small bags.

          "You sure that the Chief is ok with this dad?" Garen asked.

          "I'm sure. I authorized it myself." Came a voice from behind them making all four of them jump. "You two are old enough to try and help in a situation, chaotic as it might be. Just having extra people there who could watch might help. Remember don't do anything, but having a camera and a dedicated line to the police can help. We've been asking people who we can trust for a while now and your father put through the recommendation. If you are uncomfortable with it, I'm fine. It is your decision." Lux and Garen turned to each other. Garen, who was actively pursuing a police career was more than happy to help. Lux meanwhile was a bit hesitant. Knowing full well that if an attack was to happen, she could be easily spotted transforming.

          "I'd be happy to dad. But I think Lux will be hesitant. Not that she doesn't want to help, but given how she's been in the last few, I can't blame her for not volunteering. Can you? Or you?" Garen said turning to both his father and Caitlyn upon sensing her hesitation. Not for the right reasons though, but because he is being a big brother. Lux just smiled as she handed it back.

          "Sorry dad. I just don't know if I would be able to help."

          "I understand. I know this isn't your thing, but I figured I'd made the offer. Well I know I interrupted a walk, so you can go. Thanks again you two." Lux breathed a sigh of relief as they motioned to Garen they would walk. He left, but as Lux and Janna were about to walk out, Caitlyn stopped them.

          "I knew you would probably say no. It's your brother who wants to end up here, or at another police station, or the military. But you, well I can't say really. I hope you won't lament over this decision. I knew when I saw your name, I probably wouldn't get it. Not that you wouldn't help, but given what was happening in the last few weeks, it probably wasn't the best idea. If you father gives you anything over it, please call me. I'll give him a nice patrol to shake up his day."

          That got Lux to not only relax but laugh a bit as Caitlyn walked away. "Nice to know she does in fact have a nice side." Janna said as they walked out.

          "She does. But you know the real reason I had to say no. Garen was just being a big brother. Unusual for him, but he's always there when he needs to be."

          "Well let's go for that walk then." And they both set out to the rendezvous point with Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr in the park. Along the way they just chatted about everyday things, keeping the real thing they wanted to talk about until they found that secluded spot. Finally getting to the ring of benches, they did a once over to see if they were alone, and they were. They both just sat in silence for the three to arrive.

          When they finally did, they hopped on their respective companion's lap to give what they found. Dorcha started.

          "Well it wasn't easy, but they do have an elaborate security plan. If this were a real world threat, I would say that whoever is planning the attack would be hopeless."

          "But this isn't a real world attack, it is a void attack. That said, the arraignments are still pretty good. They have a lot of things covered, but if Malzahar is still going to be behind it, they will likely be overwhelmed within a few minutes. We don't know what is going to happen at this event, but we will need to work fast to prevent them from doing what they want. What they want to do however, is a mystery."

          "And figuring that out, will be the key." Zephyr added. "If we can foil that plan, then it makes the attack worthless to them and might even cause further problems in their ranks. But the question is what is the plan." That put them all into a thinking pose. Just as Lux sat back up, she heard a twig snap and a scuffle as something ran. Lux quickly jumped to her feet as Janna did the same and they both checked around them to see what was going on. After some investigation, they looked up to see an animal in the tree which then snapped another twig and ran off.

          "Well that's a relief. That could have been a lot worse. No one saw anything right?" Janna turned to see everyone shaking their heads. "Ok so we are covered there. Let's head home and compare notes with Vel'Koz tomorrow and see if there is anything that he might think of."

          "Right. See you tomorrow then."

          The rest of the day seem to pass by quickly as before they knew it, it was already time to go to bed for school in the morning. Unusually both found themselves turning in earlier compared to normal, but they both chalked it up to being tired and their sleep schedules off a bit.

          That was proven true the following day as they found themselves dragging as usual in the morning followed by a boring day in school put them both right back on the track. Getting through the day was almost a struggle in of itself before they raced for the tower afterwards.

          Lux for once managed to beat Janna who arrived just a short time afterward. They both waited and compared notes with Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr before Vel'Koz managed to get away with enough time to see them. Floating in as usual, he turned to the table where their notes were spread everywhere on a variety of subjects.

          "Seems I missed a few conversations. Fill me in." Vel'Koz requested as he looked over the notes.

          "Well we think that there is a greater point to the attack. It is possible to mind control someone?" Lux asked.

          "Possibly. It was something Malzahar could do with limited effect. If he has perfected this ability, it is possible he could plant a suggestion in someone's mind, or take it over completely. While the Freljord is some distance from here, it is still close enough to be a problem if someone in that leadership were to be corrupted. Also because it has so much open space, creating a void portal there, even a small one wouldn't be hard and would be hard to spot." Vel'Koz said as Zephyr turned to Janna who shrugged.

          "Your suggestion and your idea." Janna said to Zephyr, who just hung his head in response.

          "Also on the subject of that new Guardian, we might have a lead. It is faint, but we might be able to locate it."

          "Good Solas. Bolstering the team's numbers is always a good option. Especially since this upcoming attack. Keep on the trail. Something more."

          "Yes. Last night, Janna and I were in the park when we heard a twig snap as we were discussing a few things about the upcoming attack. We attributed the snap to an animal in the tree, but now we aren't so certain." Lux said.

          "You think you might have been overheard?" Vel'Koz asked, worry carrying though in his voice.

          "Yes we do." Janna said. "We aren't sure who it was, but it might be that new Guardian. She could have been drawn to us only to run away when we realized she was there."

          "Yes that might be an option. I will investigate the park myself. But I will need one of you to show me where it happened. Thankfully it is cloudy today." Vel'Koz said as he started floating towards the door.

          "I'll go." Lux said moving to the door as well.

          "Good because I have homework." Janna stood up and quickly made her way out. Clearly wanting to get started before chaos reared its ugly head. Lux stood up and after cleaning off the table, showed Vel'Koz to the park where everything happened. Once there, he began searching around and after a few minutes found the animal from the tree.

          "Yes you were correct in your suspicions. Someone did overhear you, but this animal couldn't make out who it was or where they went. It might have been a child however judging by the size, or it might have been a yordle. It is hard to tell." Vel'Koz said with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

          "Oh well. It was worth a shot at least." Lux said, defeated.

          "Indeed it was. I will make my way back to the Library now, but I thank you for your assistance in this matter." Lux briefly caught off guard gave a quick bow before parting.

          You're welcome. Sorry I couldn't have done more."

          "You did enough. It wasn't what I had hoped for, but still more than enough to continue my research." Lux started walking away as she noticed a few people watching them. Vel'Koz must have seen it as well as he quickly switched his tone and position. Lux turned a gave a quick wave before she walked home.

          Lux went home quickly and immediately managed to get Janna into a private voice room where they could talk. She relayed the story of what was found and was responded to only in silence. "Janna you there?"

          "Sorry, just thinking. If we can't identify who this was, then perhaps there are other things we can do. We just need to be ready, but I think having Solas and Zephyr scout out more might be a good idea. We need to find out who this is, preferably before the fight so we can at least work together, even if it is just for a few minutes."

          "Agreed." Lux turned to Solas. "Meet up with Zephyr and find this person. Whoever and wherever they are."

          "You got it." Solas quickly hopped out the window. Lux was always amazed at Solas' and Dorcha's agility despite them being poros. Dorcha resumed her seat on Lux's lap as Lux turned back to the computer. "Ok their off. Now we just need to make it through another day. I don't think we should scout around the parade route. It might look extremely suspicious."

          "Agreed, but there would be someone who doesn't." Lux looked down at Dorcha on her lap. "Feel like looking around one more time at the route?"

          "Absolutely. I'll try to get it as accurate as possible." Dorcha said, clearly looking for something to do.

          "Just don't get in trouble." Dorcha hopped off and also out the window. "Ok she's off. Hopefully we can meet tomorrow after school to go over the final details. I think we would have an issue trying to meet the morning of."

          "I agree. It would be too chaotic. We also need to have a safe place to transform. Finding that might be an issue if there is an attack." Janna replied.

          "So we go transformed?" Lux asked.

          "Bad idea in this situation. Also we don't want to do it as it might give Malzahar an easy first strike." Janna said.

          "Sorry didn't think about that." Lux let her annoyance come through in her voice.

          "Don't worry about it. It's good that we are getting these things out now rather than in two days. Anyway I need to get off and finish some work. I will see you tomorrow then." And with that Janna logged off.

          Lux logged out and turned to her workload on her desk and put her head down. Resigning herself, she picked up a pen and began working. It was almost 10 at night before Lux realized the time and turned in. Looking out her window, she noticed that Dorcha and Solas still weren't back and while that was a bit worrying, she also knew they knew how to take care of themselves. Quickly falling asleep, Lux knew that tomorrow would be a long day.

          Janna for her part, managed to finish the work and carefully made her way to bed. Also worried about Zephyr, she rarely slept without him at the foot of her bed. Looking out of her window one last time, Janna just crawled into bed and fell asleep.

          Outside Lux's school, on the roof were two shadows. Both walking in circles and stopping occasionally. "It is here there is no doubt about that." Zephyr said as they continued pacing.

          "I agree Zephyr, so what do you think we should do then?" Solas asked, stopping in his tracks.

          "Just wait until morning. You go with Lux to school, while Dorcha continues to scout out the route. I'll hover around the school as well trying to help spot. Once we have a list we can hopefully found out who specifically is the one." Zephyr said as he also stopped walking.

          "Good plan. Now I think we should get back before we are found and while we can still get some sleep." Zephyr nodded in reply and they both made for home.

          Despite falling asleep without her two companions, Lux awoke to both Dorcha and Solas back. Petting them both as a "welcome back" hug, she quickly got dressed and headed downstairs. After eating breakfast she came back upstairs and saw both Dorcha and Solas finally awake.

          "So how was your investigations last night." Lux asked as she closed the door.

          "Productive. Solas was telling me about his." Dorcha said turning back to her counterpart.

          "Yes. We were able to discover that the new Guardian goes to your school Lux. We don't know who it is, but we will be around the school today and hopefully have a short list by the end of the day. Does your school mind a friendly poro tagging along for the day?"

          "I don't think it will be an issue, but I would suggest that you say out of sight. If you are discovered, I could just say you jumped in without me noticing. Or maybe…" Lux's voice trailed off as she looked up something quickly on her computer.

          "Lux you are going to be late." Came her mother's voice.

          "I'll be gone in a minute mom. I'm just checking something."

          "Ok. I just don't want you to sprint."

          "I'm fine." Lux heard her mother walk away from the bottom of the stairs while she worked her computer. Finally turning it off just a minute later, she grabbed Solas and placed him on her shoulder. "I checked the pet policy, and as long as you are behaved, you can come. Poros are the only thing allowed."

          "Great. I'll just keep up the quite poro act." That got Dorcha laughing. Lux shot her a look, and she calmed down.

          "Sorry but I'm better at it than you, but whatever. I'll continue to scout the route. Good luck you two." Dorcha said once she calmed down.

          Lux just nodded in reply as she headed downstairs and out the door. Lux managed to get past her mom, but not her dad, who was just leaving. "Lux you know I don't like you taking those to school."

          "Dad I know but he was sick last night and while Dorcha is ok, I just want to keep an eye on him."

          "Considering your past experience with pets, I am hesitant, but you have done better this time. Just go before your mother sees." Lux made her way to school without much of a fuss. As she was approaching the building, Solas nudged her and she looked up. Sitting on top, barely in view, as Zephyr who was clearly going to help with the investigation. Nodding at him, Zephyr disappeared onto the roof proper.

          Lux made her way around that day, taking a bit longer of a route than normal so Solas could get a good read of the school. The problem was that since Lux went here as well, sorting between the energies was difficult. Keeping an eye on the yordles, Solas made careful observations of each and carefully squeezed Lux's shoulder when he wanted a name written down. Before lunch, they had 8 names.

          'How's it going.'

          Lux turned to her phone. '8 names. It isn't a lot but he hasn't sensed anything since. Zephyr should be meeting me in a few. I'll let you know if he adds to the list.' Just as Lux put her phone back down, Zephyr wound his way around her legs.

          Lux carefully put him on the bench next to her and gave him some of the lunch Janna had managed to hand off that morning. Solas was already busy eating his lunch. Zephyr made a quick look over the names, and nodded. Meaning he had nothing to add. Lux was relieved as that was still a lot of names to investigate before tomorrow, but their hopes of getting the new Guardian tonight was almost out of the question. Zephyr finished and headed to meet Dorcha along the parade route. Solas, finished, just turned to Lux. "Well it could have been worse."

          "Yeah, but this is still a lot of names for you two tonight. I'd better text Janna." Grabbing her phone, Lux just sent a message to Janna saying no additional names.

          'Good.' Came the reply. Lux noticed the time and grabbing Solas, they returned to class. The rest of the day for the two Guardians seemed to pass quickly. Before they knew it they were at the tower. Comparing notes they realized they would have to wait for Zephyr and Dorcha to return before they could do much. After waiting 30 minutes, Dorcha made her way into the tower.

          "Solas, Zephyr is just outside, you want to tackle that list now. I'll give an update on the security." Solas just nodded and headed out. Dorcha hopped onto the table where a map of the route was laid out. Nasus entered the room at this point. Nodding to the two Guardians, he took a seat at the table.

          "OK. The security is tight, but they have added a few things. More checkpoints at these locations and another viewing stand here. Now one thing that they have done is call up more officers and it will be difficult for Malzahar to open a portal, let alone push something large through without us noticing or stopping it."

          "Something large would require an attack directly against the magics around the planet, but that is something we would detect. So far, Kha'Zix has been the one to come down because he can slip through mostly." Nasus said as he kept his eyes on the route. "He might launch the attack tomorrow before the event, making it look like fireworks or something like that. Be careful and watch the skies. If you auroras, then find a spot to transform quickly because he will be coming."

          "Right." Lux and Janna responded. Turning to each other, the nerves showed on their faces. Dorcha and Nasus noticed, but didn't want to say anything. Turing back to the map, they made a list of places where they might be able to transform and still get a good view. After two hours, they just decided to call it on the planning since they were starting to repeat things. Lux and Janna headed upstairs to train for a bit before heading home.

          Just an hour later, they both came down and headed home. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and it also promised to be a workout, no matter what happened. Turning in early that night, both wanted to be up early to get a good spot at one of their pre planed locations.

          Outside a house a little ways away from Janna's, a poro and a cat were in a tree. "Well that's 6 of the names Zephyr, knowing our luck, it will be the last one on the list won't it?"

          "Probably, but we need to keep it up. But doing anything now will be foolish. Let's head to the tower to rest for the night, and head out at first light." Solas just nodded in reply. They both headed for the tower to rest for the few hours they had.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile on the Moon, Malzahar looked carefully over the route using his sight. He made note of the large amount of security and also took note of the Royal Plane making its way to the city. Knowing he had little time, he summoned his energy and called his minions.

          "Good everyone is here. Now tonight we will be assaulting the magics around the planet. We need to punch a hole large enough to get the Herald through. Hopefully we can do enough damage that we will be able to get more powerful voidlings through, but I'm sure whoever came up with this has a backup plan. We still can't fully destroy them, but we can weaken them. Now get ready."

          The powerful voidlings took their positions around a nexus of void energy, mostly refined from Kha'Zix's grab a few days earlier, and they focused their own powers and eventually the void energy lashed against the summoner magics around the planet. To most of the people on the planet, it looked like a momentous event, but to Vel'Koz, he knew what was happening. He turned to his desk, picked up the phone, and started a series of events that were already laid out for when this happened.

* * *

 

          In their rooms, Lux and Janna suddenly sat bolt upright as a sudden chill swept over them both. Looking outside, Lux, along with Dorcha and Solas, and Janna with Zephyr, saw the telltale auroras of a void attack. Quickly getting to the tower, both of them found Vel'Koz pacing waiting for something. Turning he saw them.

          "It is good you are here. Malzahar is using the void energy he collected to assault the protective magics around Runeterra. I have already set into motion events that will repair them, but the summoners need time to arrive. Tomorrow, I do not know what you will face, but it will be more powerful than anything before. You must be prepared. I know you came here because you both thought there was something you could do, but there isn't. We can't stop this attack now but in the future we might be able to. Or at least slow it down."

          Lux turned to Janna who had a look on her face that said he was right. "Well then, I guess will just have to roll with it tomorrow. We've stopped them before, and we will stop them again." Janna just smiled. It sounded like something she would have said back in the old days. Even though she was scared, and could tell Lux was as well, there was something to be said about motivational speeches. Janna turned and started to head back to her room, while Lux took a look at the globe showing the assault.

          "It seems powerful, but they are spreading it over a wide area, probably trying to force a hole bigger to get something through." Vel'Koz said coming over the globe with Lux. "We will see how much damage gets done. Wait what?" As suddenly as it had started, the attack stopped. Janna, who had just about stepped through the portal, canceled it and came running.

          "Strange. It lasted almost 20 minutes, was it enough?"

          "They got through whatever they wanted. Remember those portals can punch through the magics, but only if they still have a stable connection to the other side. Whatever they sent, is keeping a hole open. But they can't send anything else because they would have to force it open again." Vel'Koz pondered the dilemma before visibly giving up. He floated away with his thoughts while Lux and Janna finally returned to their rooms. Neither of them knew Zephyr and Solas were sleeping upstairs.

* * *

 

          The following morning passed with just a few news reports about the auroras last night with only a few actually knowing what happened. Some of them commented that it was a fortuitous event that it came before the visit. Meanwhile Lux watched the news only to see final security arraignments. Garen was already at the scene being briefed by their father, while she was planning to meet up with Amy, Janna, and a few of the others before finding a spot to stand. Lux knew that it was a risk, but not going with them on a day like wasn't a good idea.

          Lux made sure her locket was secure before leaving her house and meeting up with the group. This was the first time Janna was with them, but the rest of the girls made her feel welcome instantly. Even as early as they were, people were already camped out for good seats. Eventually finding some along the fencing, they quickly staked out the spot as Lux and Janna made to get some refreshments.

          "Well here we go. Hopefully we can at least get away when it all goes down." Lux said as they moved just a little bit away.

          "I hope so as well. But we need to be careful. They are your friends and they might not want to separate quickly." Janna said, making a good point.

          "Easy I have an excuse, I'm going to look for Garen. They should by that. I hope. Maybe." Janna just shook her head as they made their way back. Already their spot was surrounded by people and they had to fight a bit to get back with the rest of them. It was a chillier day than normal, but that was both a result of the void energy from last night, and the natural weather patterns.

          Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the parade kicked off. Even though they weren't the Royals here, Queen Ashe, King Tryndamere, and Princess Sejuani made quite the appearance. Despite an overwhelming hatred of Ashe, Sejuani still made peace to allow their nation to grow, as long as she could dictate to her tribes. Riding her boar, Sejuani formed the front of the security detachment around the Queen and King and just as they approached, Lux saw something out of corner of her eye. Ducking, Janna looked and followed suit.

          A large bolder like thing crashed into the middle of the street and people scattered in every way possible. Because of their position by the fence, they managed to avoid getting trampled, but the chaos around caused more than a few issues for some. In the crowd, Amy grabbed Lux's arm, pulling her as they made their escape. As the group managed to get clear of the street, Lux pulled her arm from Amy's grasp. "I need to find Garen. If I don't, my mother will kill me. Just get out of here."

          "Just be careful Lux." Amy nodded to her friend, understanding, and kept running. Lux and Janna quickly ducked down an alley and after making sure they were clear, Lux pulled her locket, and Janna, her pendant.

          "Star Guardian Power Up." With a flash, they were both transformed, and quickly made their way back into the street. It was a testament to the Winter's Claw Tribes that their Princess was holding her own against a clearly more powerful opponent. Just as the enormous creature that had taken position in the middle of the street raised another boulder, Lux threw her baton creating a barrier between Sejuani and the creature. The bolder bounced harmlessly off the barrier as the creature wheeled around to face the new attackers.

          Janna, made her way around the creature but only managed to get to its side before it reached out with its massive claws and take a swipe at her, which Janna easily dodged. Lux for her part was making her way to the vehicle that housed the visiting royalty, only to find they were gone. Sejuani came up beside Lux.

          "They managed to get away from the creature, but I doubt they will be gone long." Sejuani said, clearly talking about the Queen and King.

          "Why is that?" Lux asked, looking towards the creature.

          "Ashe isn't the type of queen who will let someone who threw a boulder at her to get away with it. She'll be back. In the mean time, how about we try and take down this, whatever it is first." Sejuani said indicating the large creature.

          "Agreed." Sprinting around from the vehicle, Sejuani threw her mace at the creature, while Lux threw a singularity and a few bolts from her baton. Janna for her part, was expertly dodging around the creatures attacks, clearly drawing not only its attention but its anger. Just as it took a swipe that would have probably landed, Lux threw a binding, rooting it in place. Janna circled around the creature to rejoin her fellow fighters.

          "Well, what's the plan?" Janna asked.

          "Honestly until we can find a weak point, we just need to keep hitting it." Lux said, turning to the other two.

          "So straightforward? I like it. Bristle, let's go." With that, she reared her boar and with astonishing agility, she used her mace to knock around the creature's legs and was moving too fast, and at too odd of angles for it too hit back. Lux and Janna for a moment just stood there stunned but recovered and dived in as well. Things seemed to be going well for a few minutes but it was then Janna tapped Lux on the shoulder and they saw a horde of approaching small voidlings. Sejuani turned from her attack and saw the approaching horde.

          "Well. It seems that one wasn't enough." Lux and Janna just turned while the creature was still rooted and slowed. "I'll handle this. Take care of the giant thing. I know where my battle lies." With that, Sejuani just changed into the mass, sending more than one of the creatures flying into the air.

          "Well you can say one thing about her, she doesn't lack for spirit." Janna said, looking away from the large creature.

          "Yes indeed. Watch out." Lux pushed Janna aside just as the creature took a swipe. Lux threw up a barrier to absorb the blow but it never came. Opening her eyes, she saw the creature was stunned, and covered in a sheet of ice. Lux moved to see around the creature only to see a woman standing, with a bow in her hand, and wearing what looked like some impressive body armor. Lux quickly rolled out of the way while Janna made her way over as well.

          "Well he'll only be stunned for another few seconds so where do you want me to help. With my annoying princess or with you two?" Ashe asked to the two Guardians.

          "Um probably helping out the princess your majesty. We can handle this. I hope." Lux added as she turned back towards the creature still frozen in ice.

          "Very well. Should you need help, just call." Ashe quickly jumped to help Sejuani throwing arrows of ice from that magically spawned from her bow. Just when it seemed that a voidling would catch the queen off guard, another figure joined the fight. With his long blade, it seemed that the King wouldn't sit out the fight either. Lux and Janna turned back to the giant creature, only to dodge yet another attack from the creature. As Lux and Janna rolled clear, the creature got hit with a large energy pulse. Debonair was standing a little bit away with his weapon aimed right at the threat.

          Lux jumped to her feet as the creature swung again, clearly not being able to reach Debonair, it decided to take out the nearest thing. Janna threw yet another shield while Lux rolled again dodging yet another arm. The next attack however comes at Janna, and she takes it full in the chest. Janna got thrown into a building and was clearly knocked out.

          Seeing this, Debonair sent another energy pulse trying to keep the creature from moving in on Janna, while Lux threw a binding and a shield as it came after her instead. Debonair managed to get a hit with his hammer onto the creature as it again swung on Lux who just barely managed to get out of the way. The creature swung again and connected with Debonair who was likewise knocked into a building and out.

          Lux turned briefly to Ashe, Sejuani, and Tryndamere, who care making short work of the voidlings but were clearly in no position to help her. Especially with their backs to her fight. Turning, Lux got to her feet again as the creature turned to her. Taking a deep breath, Lux threw another binding and more bolts from her baton as she moved quickly to keep away from the creatures monster claws. Though with their size it was difficult as that size almost made up for the speed advantage. Almost.

          Rolling away from another attack, Lux threw a singularity at the creature before it swung again. Using her barrier, Lux prepared herself for the hit, but it still came full on. Getting knocked into building, the creature turned and looked at its opponents. Lux wasn't knocked out, but the wind was sure knocked out of her. Turning to the creature, she threw another binding, but it missed. The creature sensing its opportunity charged. Lux prepared another barrier, and readied herself for the hit.

          "Oh no you don't." Lux opened her eyes and saw something charging down the street and even though it was clearly a yordle, she charged the creature and pinned it against yet another building. Lux was so taken aback that she just sat there while the yordle just hit the creature again with her hammer, then backed off to see to Lux. "You ok?"

          "Barely, I'm guessing that Zephyr and Solas were successful?" Lux asked, getting to her feet.

          "You got that right. Now let's get this done because the ugly thing over there is getting up." Lux turned and saw that she was right. Lux threw another binding and dodged out of the way of another attack as the new Guardian threw her buckle at it forming a shield around herself and knocking the creature off its intended path. Lux then saw Zephyr attack the creature slowing it down as he grabbed on. Turning she saw Janna getting to her feet while Debonair was holding his head.

          Janna took one look and was in shock as she regained her senses. Debonair was down and Lux was clearly in trouble. Janna tried to get to her feet but couldn't as the pain from her legs was too much at the moment. Just when the creature seemed ready to finish Lux, another Guardian came running down the street, and despite her size, tackled the creature into another building where it was clearly stunned. Seeing the new Guardian help Lux to her feet made the pain in her legs ebb enough for Janna to get to hers. Seeing the creature recover she noticed Zephyr had returned and she quickly nodded to the creature and he slowed it enough to allow Lux and the new Guardian to get away.

          Janna made her way over to them and nodded. "Well it seems that you were successful" she said as Zephyr returned. He just nodded as they all turned back to the creature. Janna moved over to Debonair and Lux and the new Guardian followed. As the creature stampeded over to them Janna held up her staff and called on the winds, blowing the creature back into yet another building, the one where it had knocked her previously and the healing rains came down. Debonair, Lux, and Janna all got their second winds as the creature recovered.

          "Ok now let's take that down. Spread out and keep hitting it. Look for a weakness." The rest of them nodded and they set about moving. The creature, now having to deal with 4 targets, including a yordle who kept going underneath it to attack was finally off balance. Lux and Debonair provided most of the damage while Janna kept the new Guardian shielded and slowing the creature. Meanwhile the new Guardian kept moving around and dodging attacks while getting in a few of her own. Just as it seemed like the creature would get a lucky hit, it suddenly roared in anger.

          Turning, Lux noticed Ashe returning while Tryndamere was running to join the fight and Sejuani wasn't far behind. Ashe had clearly hit something and the creature again roared in pain as Lux noticed it. A large white eye on its back. High, but not unhittable. Lux threw a binding and a singularity while everyone gathered.

          "Ok while this may be obvious, that eye needs to be focused. Everyone keep moving around so that someone has a clear shot at that eye when it opens again. You three, keep moving around its legs and keep it off balance" Lux said to Tryndamere, Sejuani, and her new Guardian. "Ashe, stay on the perimeter with us while we try and knock it down or knock it out." The rest just nodded as the creature roared again coming after them. They all split as it tried again to swing and hit, but it swung and missed. With now 7 people attacking it, the creature was quickly getting overwhelmed as it kept trying to hit someone but they were either hitting back, or were shielded by Lux or Janna. Meanwhile Debonair and Ashe kept moving and hitting the eye whenever it opened up.

          Quickly the creature became tired, or at least that is what it appeared and finally just collapsed on the ground. "Get clear." Everyone dived out of the way as Sejuani threw her mace freezing the creature while Lux charged up. Running her hand along her baton she charged her laser. Focusing her powers, she threw them in a beam.

          "NO!" Lux was knocked down by a large and powerful blow as she saw the creature vanish through a portal. Looking up, she grabbed her baton again. A man was hovering over them. "You may have won this day Guardians and friends, but you will not win this war. I will return." The creature opened a portal, but not before everyone threw whatever they could at him.

          "Well, we have a new friend and with that friend we only get stronger." Lux said as she turned to her new friend who just nodded, while she and Jayce were just eyeing each other's hammers and comparing them. Ashe's helmet withdrew into her armor while Sejuani and Tryndamere came over. Lux knew she had overstepped by ordering a Queen and King around, but Ashe's smile was all the reassurance she needed to say she did the right thing.

          "Well it seems that the void has returned. Will you three be ok?" Ashe asked.

          "I think the four of us will be fine. After all, we've managed to this point and I'm sure we will keep it up." Lux said, trying to sound confident.

          "Good. If you need something, you know where to call." Ashe turned to head back to what remained of her security detachment while Tryndamere followed. Sejuani stayed for a second to nod at Lux before joining her cousin. Lux just stood for a second before rejoining the rest of the group.

          "Well it seems that we will never agree." Debonair said as Lux got within earshot.

          "That's for certain." Janna just rolled her eyes as the two were still going on.

          "Well. It seems that nothing is safe anymore is it?" Lux just shook her head. "Well I should get going because it seems like you might have to explain something." Debonair said as he pointed. Lux turned to see Caitlyn and Vi coming down.

          "Well this will be interesting." Lux said as she made her way towards the two while Janna and the new Guardian followed.

          "Well it seems that the big boss orchestrated this didn't he?" Caitlyn asked. Janna just nodded. "Well, the fact you all kept collateral damage to a minimum is something I should say thank you for, but this will still mean a mountain of paperwork."

          "At least I got to punch a few things." Vi's comment just made Caitlyn put her head into her hand shacking it groaning all the while. The three Guardians couldn't contain their laughter and all three burst out. That got Caitlyn to smile. Lux managed to recover enough to see Garen coming out of a building with a few others so she knew he was safe. Still this was going to be a large talking too at home. Seeing her father also made her feel better as they were no doubt searching for her.

          "Look you three just get out of here. I'll deal with this. I'm sure that even as skilled as we are, we couldn't have taken out that creature the way you all did." Caitlyn waved off the three Guardians and with that, Lux, Janna, and their new friend all dived out of sight. Finding a secluded place out of sight of everything, Lux just turned and nodded.

          "Power down." And all three returned to their normal selves. Lux and Janna turned to their new friend.

          "Poppy." She said holding out her hand.

          "Lux." She said taking it.

          "Janna."

          "Well, now there are three. Come on, I'm sure Vel'Koz will want to talk to us. I'll meet you two at the tower after…" Lux didn't get to finish before Janna cut her off.

          "Just go." Janna said as she and Poppy made their way out. Lux came out and saw her father and brother looking around. She waved and the look of relief on their faces was enough. Garen came over while their father returned to looking for anyone trapped.

          "Well it seems that there was a reason to worry. You ok?" Garen asked, trying to show a sense of calm.

          "I'm fine. I'm just going to go for a walk. I'm sure mom's already passed out from anxiety." Lux said as she turned to leave.

          "Probably. I'll see when I get back. Just be careful." Garen said.

          "Aren't I always?" Lux said and Garen just rolled his eyes at his sister as she began walking. He had half a mind to follow but decided against it. Lux for her part made her way to the tower where Vel'Koz and Nasus were waiting.

          "Good. Now that there are three of you, you all should feel the power in yourselves increasing. Hopefully whatever Malzahar will throw at us next will be weaker, and I'm sure it will be. He can't get another attack like that again for a while. As for the new team member, welcome Poppy. I hope you will feel welcome here."

          "Just point me in the way I need to go and I'll be sure to mess up their plans." That got everyone laughing while Lux just sighed. Looking out the window, their fight ramped up, but so did their team. She just sighed and returned to the group.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile on the moon, the Voidlings were gathered around Malzahar who was still reeling from the few parting shots that everyone got in. "Well it seems my plan was overambitious. I miscalculated. But now there are three guardians to deal with. Kha'Zix prepare a final plan. Then I will need you for something else." He nodded and left. Turning to Rek'Sai "I need you to accelerate your plans as well. Understood?" The void burrower nodded as well and left.

          Turning to Cho'Gath he said "You were correct but at least we got enough to replenish what was lost and more."

          "That is true Prophet, but we can't afford another attack like that for a while."

          "Agreed. The next time it will be with the Baron." Cho'Gath smiled what little he could as Malzahar laughed.


	11. A Final Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A final battle and a final chance. But is it the end or just a new beginning?

 

          "Goodbye." Screamed Poppy as she flung her hammer into the ground forcing not only the ground up, but her foe as well. Lux spun around throwing a binding and a few bolts while Poppy charged in, with a shield by Janna who also threw Zephyr to slow down their opponent.

          The creature Kha'Zix came up with for his final plan wasn't the best, given the limited amount of time he had to implement it. And it was turning out just like he expected. As he saw his minion flying across the sky and landing hard against a tree, he knew that the whole thing was blown. He tried to salvage the situation by ripping a portal open and getting a few orbs through before Janna threw a tornado his way shattering the rest.

          Kha'Zix roared in anger and charged towards Janna, but was hit in the stomach by Poppy as she charged to the rescue. Lux meanwhile made sure that the minion didn't bother them anymore. Kha'Zix charged towards Lux before she could throw her Spark, but Poppy once again hit him in the stomach, this time with the hammer. At the same time, he was hit with an energy pulse from Debonair who had appeared in a nearby tree. Lux successfully managed to dust the minion before joining the rest of the team.

          "It's over Kha'Zix, you've lost. Now either surrender or you will be dusted." Kha'Zix knew that was somewhat of an empty threat as the Guardian needed time to recharge before firing again, but with the annoying people with hammers and the old Guardian with her staff would make sure she had that time.

          "Or I just run." And quickly tearing open a portal, he jumped through but Debonair managed to get a pulse of which made it through the closing portal and shattered the orbs he had managed to get. Roaring in anger again, Kha'Zix leaped through the Moon Base to the throne where Malzahar rested.

          "Prophet. I barely managed to recover anything from the last mission. I did not have enough time to plan." Kha'Zix looked up at Malzahar who just frowned.

          "I am disappointed Kha'Zix. Either way you have failed enough times and now I see little use for you. But, against my better judgment, I will give you one last chance to redeem yourself if in some small way. Now go about this last plan but if you fail miserably, you will be punished."

          "Yes oh great prophet." Kha'Zix almost ran out of the throne room and straight into Cho'Gath.

          "How I'm looking forward to my next meal. Failed enough yet?" Cho'Gath asked, licking his lips.

          "I will not be eaten by you or anyone else. I will come back with something of value." Kha'Zix shot back, confident.

          "You know all he wants is energy? What else could you come back with?" Cho'Gath asked, confused.

          "The identities of the Guardians." Kha'Zix smiled confidently.

          "They are too smart for that and you know it. But focusing on that energy might help you avoid being on my plate." Cho wandered off while Kha'Zix just shuddered at the thought. He quickly made his way back to his chambers where he set about making a trap for the Guardians and force them to expose their real identities. He knew that a direct attack on them wouldn't do it, so he had to pick a target.

          Looking over the city, he needed to pick a place. His eyes first drifted to the airport, but he dismissed it. Open, but too many small places for them to transform. The mall was out for the same reasons. Any attack on any of the law enforcement facilities would being a much bigger response than he expected. Finally he saw a large building that was perfect. A library. He knew that there were powerful people there, but he didn't care. It was time to get something. Then something stopped him. A feeling he couldn't shake, and he returned to the map.

          Finally his eyes drifted to the main transit hub near the city center. It was open but with the amount of people, he would get what he wanted. A place where the Guardians would have to make it obvious if they wanted to transform. Smiling he knew the perfect plan.

* * *

 

          Back on Runeterra, Lux, Janna, and Poppy settled down for a few days as Kha'Zix's latest blunder had done a lot to convince them that he was desperate and looking for anything. Poppy and Lux were at the same school so making her feel welcome was easier, despite the fact Poppy had reminded Lux that she had almost tripped on her more than a few times. Lux just put on the "oops" face with her hand behind her back and smiled. Poppy just rolled her eyes in response every time they did this.

          Janna for her part was looking forward to the trip she was going on tomorrow into the heart of the city. It was the school's annual trip to the Science Museum and she was looking forward to it. However, since she was unable to bring along guests, Janna knew that if something broke out, which she expected it would, she would either be on her own, or Lux and Poppy would have to wait. With everyone else in the class looking to get on her good side, she had no shortages of guys asking to be her partner for the day, but she eventually settled on Garen and his friend Jayce, since they weren't pushing it like many of the other were. Draven especially was being a bit hardnosed about it.

          Lux for her part was making sure that tomorrow things would go smoothly if they were ambushed. She knew that Kha'Zix would be desperate after that last attack and would attack a high profile target. She had already mapped the highest profile targets in the city and there were too many to cover. Looking over the map, Lux sighed as she put her head down. Seeing this, Poppy just popped Lux on the head with her pendant causing her to get up.

          "Don't fret. I'm sure we will all be fine. After all, he is desperate, what can he plan in just two days." Poppy said confidently.

          "You'd be surprised. He can be quick." Lux replied.

          "Yes but has he ever been desperate like this?" Lux was about to reply when she paused. It was true he hadn't, and therefore was more likely to make huge mistakes.

          "I guess you are right. He will try something big and desperate. So that limits the targets." Lux said after thinking for a few minutes.

          "There you go. Use that brain." Poppy's attitude was a welcome relief to both of them. She was both upbeat and full of energy. A welcome infusion into their usual routines. Lux scanned the map again and knocked certain targets off while Poppy kept an eye out for approaching people. Very few could explain the sudden friendship between the two, but Lux let slip to Amy, who would then spread it over the whole school, that they had met online and struck up a friendship for a while. It wasn't until recently that they decided to reveal more and discovered they went to the same school. Knowing Amy, Lux used her to spread the word. She felt a little guilty of using her friend like that, but she also knew that Amy would just keep prying until she got the information she wanted.

          Speaking of Amy, Poppy knocked the table with her foot and Lux quickly folded up the small map they were using as Amy approached. They both just smiled as she sat down. "So I kind of went overboard with telling everyone." Amy said as she made herself comfortable.

          "I figured you would. But what's not why you are here is it?" Lux said probing for the real reason.

          "No. I just wanted to know if you wanted to come to the mall after school?" Amy asked, almost begging.

          Lux took a side glance at Poppy and she just gave the ever so briefest of smiles. "Sure why not. I could use a bit of a distraction right now." Lux said, and Poppy smiled.

          "You study too much you know that." Amy said.

          "You don't see how many games I play do you?" Lux said, poking her friend in the ribs.

          "Yes and I still say you study too much." Amy blurted out. That got all three of them laughing. Amy excused herself since she could tell she had interrupted something and Lux pulled the map out again. She had carefully selected targets and had limited it to just a few.

          "So I've limited it to the main train station downtown, these three museums, and the mall. Any one of them is a big target and will attract attention. My bet is on one of the museums or the station since he has hit the mall too many times." Lux said.

          "I say this." Poppy said as she pointed to the History Museum downtown. "It's a bit isolated and it doesn't have many places to hide where we could transform. While it isn't the busiest, it does present a target we couldn't easily defend against." Lux just stared at Poppy as the girl's tactical knowledge was astounding. Though given the games she played, it wasn't surprising.

          "Well I guess we will have to enlist Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr to help see what is going on. Hopefully he will wait until after school is over. But I doubt it." Lux said as she looked at the map again.

          "Well the busiest times for a place like that is late afternoon so it is most likely going to be after school or just as it is getting out. We should still be careful." Poppy said, also looking at the map.

          "Agreed. There's the bell." And with that the two of them ran back into the school. During the afternoon Lux texted as much detail to Janna as she could, which didn't help Janna relax. Knowing she would be passing through the main transit hub tomorrow did little to eliminate her fears of a next attack. It was unusual that they would be taking public transit rather than a dedicated bus, but given the Science Museum was just a few blocks from the hub made the decision for the school. Also it was much cheaper.

          After school, the three of them met in the tower with Nasus to discuss the plans.

          "Overall, it is a good selection of targets. My belief is that he will attack the transit hub over the Museum." Poppy gave Nasus the stink eye. "Sorry but that is consistent with their past attacks. Large areas, lots of people, and limited places for you to transform. It is harder to transform in a crowd than you might think. Especially when people will be diving into every small spot to get away and hide. The History Museum is also one that is likely but I doubt it since Kha'Zix will need to deliver."

          Poppy's face was still put out but Lux and Janna knew that Nasus was probably right. Either way they knew that they weren't being told something. Seeing the deadlock, Poppy still wanted to get something from the Keeper. "What aren't you telling us?"

          "The Summoners who will be reinforcing and repairing the damage from that attack will arrive tomorrow there." Nasus said, matter of factly.

          "When?" Lux asked.

          "Around noon." Nasus replied.

          "So not at peak. I think they will be safe. I'm worried about the afternoon rush hour." Poppy said.

          "Hmm. That is a likely point of attack. I guess the only think I can say is be ready. Vel'Koz is going to remain hidden until the summoners arrive here tomorrow so I will be meeting them at the station. Hopefully I can deflect attacks until you all get there. If anything should happen." Nasus said as he thought for a moment.

          "Right." With that they all left to return home to work on homework, or at least try. Lux found herself unable to concentrate, Janna was equally distracted and worried, and Poppy wasn't worried, but more concerned that she wouldn't be able to do her best. So all three just started playing games until they had to eat or go to bed.

          To say that they all got a good night's sleep would be a lie. They all woke up tired and complaining about it. Lux managed to complain enough about lack of sleep, especially with the fact she almost fell asleep at breakfast to insist from her parents that she stay home and rest. They both chalked it up to the recent attack as Garen had barely managed to get out of bed himself. They knew Garen wasn't going to miss the trip so they called Lux out, and she just went back to bed.

          Janna also wasn't going to miss the trip, so she dragged herself to school and slept on the train to the museum, which somehow was more restful than a night in her bed. Garen likewise took a nap on the train. Poppy meanwhile just took naps in class when her teacher wasn't looking. Lux had already managed to text both Janna and Poppy about what happened and Poppy was jealous. Her parents wouldn't let her get away with that. They were strict but reasonable. School however was the one thing they did care about. No missed school for lack of sleep.

          Poppy managed to get through the day while Janna enjoyed hers at the museum. Knowing that an attack would be present at some point kept her awake. Lux for her part decided to help Nasus with the arrival of the Summoners from around the world. Going transformed, but in a cloak like him, they met the group, who somehow managed to blend in with the mass that was there. Thinking on it more, Lux noticed that cloaks weren't as out of place as she thought they were going to be. Lux was on watch for anything unusual but surprisingly they managed to get in and out of the hub without any incident.

* * *

 

          Back at the library, Lux made her way to her room on the third floor and fell asleep again before waking a few hours later when she knew the attack would happen. Walking downstairs she saw that Poppy had joined them and was napping at the table with some after school snack in front of her. Lux just smiled and giggled a bit before cleaning it up and sitting down to read through the tablet there before Poppy woke up.

          "Didn't sleep well either?" Lux asked.

          "No. At least you stayed home and got some sleep." Poppy said groggily.

          "Well I went and helped Nasus but that was about it. Hopefully Janna bot some form of rest." Lux said.

          "I'm sure she did." Poppy checked her phone to see nothing from Janna yet, while Lux looked over to the globe which showed zero incursions. Sighing, she went back to reading while Poppy turned the TV on.

* * *

 

          For her part, Janna was enjoying her day immensely. The fact that she knew an attack was coming, was also her queue to enjoy as much as possible. Even having an assignment wasn't dragging her down. Once she was at the museum, she let herself go, which was an odd feeling and just enjoyed herself. Once the assignment was done, she, Garen, and Jayce just ran around the museum taking it in since it was rare they did get there and they decided to enjoy it. Even into the afternoon.

          Just as Poppy considered taking another nap, the globe lit up. They both dived over to it to see an incursion. "Let's go." Lux grabbed her locket and Poppy her pendant.

          "Star Guardian Power Up." Once they were transformed, Lux got a better look at Poppy. While looking like a smaller version of the one she and Janna wore, it was noticeably different. Poppy had what looked more like a suit of armor than anything. Even her legs were wrapped in a form of armor rather than Lux's and Janna's which were more boots than anything. But the tiara was more like theirs. Her hair also went from brown to a Bright Blue to match her outfit.

          "Isn't that a bit heavy?" Lux asked.

          "Not really. It is lighter than some of the other things I've worn. My dad has a hobby making old fashioned armor. That is heavy. This feels like nothing in comparison, but I know its strong." Poppy said in reply.

          "How do you know that?" Lux asked looking at Poppy.

          "Oh I hit myself in the chest with this" Poppy said indicating her hammer. Lux just rolled her eyes.

          "Didn't that hurt?" Lux now had her head in her hands.

          "A bit, but not nearly as much as I thought it would." Poppy said confidently.

          "Ok then, let's go." With that the two headed over to the table to wait for Kha'Zix's attack, and he didn't keep them waiting long. Within a few minutes, the board indicated the attack on the transit hub and they both sprinted out of the tower to the nearby station. Lux was amazed at how Poppy still managed to run with a hammer that was almost twice her size, but considering that it was one of their weapons, she thought better of it.

          Reaching the station, it was in utter chaos. Knowing that Janna was likely inside, they both split up to enter the main hall where Kha'Zix had managed to get quite a bit of energy from the mob of afternoon passengers. Lux threw a singularity at the orbs, which Kha'Zix responded to by throwing them all haphazardly through the portal and shutting it. Poppy was looking around for the minion he brought but couldn't find anything.

          "Ok enough. I'm getting sick and tired of these games you giant bug. So return that energy you stole or you will be punished. We are the Star Guardians, sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you."

          "Again seriously what does that ever accomplish besides annoying me." Kha'Zix laughed.

          "This you giant bug!" Kha'Zix turned and tried to jump away, but instead was slammed by Poppy into a bench. Throwing her hammer down, the impact on the tile floor left an small hole that Kha'Zix looked at carefully as it was glowing, before it exploded a bit in his face. Now angry, he jumped at Poppy but she threw her buckler at him and upon recovering it, she shielded herself from his attack. Lux meanwhile was looking around for Janna, who she couldn't find. Knowing she might have gotten hit in the attack, she decided that the best thing was to get Kha'Zix before he did real damage.

          "Over here bug face." Kha'Zix turned from Poppy and charged at Lux, who only bated him into a binding with bolts to the face. Roaring in anger, he flew through a window and onto the roof. Poppy and Lux took one look around for Janna, who was still out of sight, before jumping up to Join Kha'Zix. On the roof, he met the two Guardians with spines but they both rolled out of the way with Poppy then rolling into a charge and Lux throwing a singularity and exploding it in Kha'Zix's face. Getting caught between Lux and Poppy, Kha'Zix knew he was beaten but he tried to hold out.

          A charge and smash into a rooftop chimney convinced him however that staying wouldn't be wise.

          "I'll be back." Kha'Zix ripped open another portal and fled before Lux could get another binding off.

          "Well I don't think we'll be seeing him again." Poppy said confidently.

          "I do. He got away with a lot of energy so I think he'll be back for more. Also we didn't see his minion so he is still planning something. We just need to be on the watch. Let's get back to the tower before powering down or we will never get off this roof with a good explanation." Lux said as she indicated the door.

          "Good thinking." Poppy said and followed Lux down and before they knew it they were back at the tower. Powering down, Lux texted Janna to see where she was, but she didn't respond immediately. Getting worried after 10 minutes, Lux called Janna but got someone she didn't expect.

          "Lux is that you?"

"Garen!?" Poppy looked up from the tablet where she was following news of the event. "What are you doing Janna's phone?"

          "Well she got hurt in the attack. She's ok but knocked out. Jayce and me managed to drag her into a closet here at the station. They just let us out. Oh she's coming around. Relax you are ok." Lux could hear Janna in the background. Clearly recovering from an energy drain.

          "Just make sure she is ok brother or I will find you." Lux said angrily.

          "She'll be fine after a nap. See you at home." Garen said, now scared of his sister.

          "Well that explains a few things" Lux said putting her phone down.

          "She ok?" Poppy asked.

          "She got hit with the energy drain. From the sound it of it, she was near one of the orbs. A good night of sleep and she will be fine. I'll go check on her since I live close by and it would be seriously out of the way for you." Lux said as she sat down.

          "Yep. Now I need to get home before my parents worry. Speaking of them" Poppy said as she grabbed her phone. "I'm fine. I'm with a friend. Ok I'm coming now. Being an only child is a pain sometimes."

          "I wish I was." Lux groaned.

          "No you don't. Trust me." And with that Poppy hopped down from the stool and headed out. Lux watched her leave before setting out herself. Heading towards Janna's place, she got there just as Garen and Jayce were helping her out of Garen's car. She got hit with the energy drain big time as she was clearly half asleep.

          "Lux can you get the door." But before she could even open it, Janna's father opened it for them.

          "Thanks again you two. And Lux for stopping by. I'm sure a good night's rest and she'll be fine. I'm sure you three don't want to be here tomorrow when she wakes up."

          "Why?" Lux asked.

          "She won't stop talking about it and how it ruined her day. Well that's what I got these earplugs for. She doesn't notice them." Somehow Janna managed to make it up the stairs in the time they had been talking and an audible thump from upstairs told them all she just fell onto her bed and asleep. "I'll have a bowl of soup for her when she wakes up. Thanks again."

          "No problem." The three departed and Garen offered Lux a ride home. Not wanting to walk anymore, she agreed. Lux hopped into the back seat and was mostly quiet as Garen drove Jayce home and then they drove home themselves. Arriving home, they both just headed upstairs and to bed. Garen however made a detour into the dining room to reassure their parents, while Lux headed upstairs and into her room. Not wanting to come out until dinner, she just put her head down, and before she knew it the sun was coming up the next day.

          "Well…that could have gone better." Lux quickly got dressed and headed for school knowing another attack was likely.

          Poppy for her part got up with little complaints but she was also tired. 'These fights are going to require me to adjust my sleep schedule aren't they. Oh well, it's what I agreed to.' Moving around her room, Poppy quickly got dressed and after grabbing her pendant, she headed towards school as well. Her parents always left before her, but were also home before her so the tradeoff was ok.

          Janna meanwhile spent most of the morning getting ready, and complaining while she did so. She went on and on about the previous day while her father just nodded. Janna knew he used earplugs but it was the fact he knew it was her way of venting that she just ignored it. Finally leaving, she made her way to school, passing by some of the others who were talking about yesterday. She managed to make it to her desk without much talking, and gave Garen and Jayce the "I'm fine" look when she noticed them looking at her.

          Janna was more disappointed in herself that she didn't notice the contraption before it activated and that she got it full in the face with it. While it seems that Lux and Poppy had managed to defeat Kha'Zix without her help, it was still unnerving to her. 'I can't do that again'.

          Lux meanwhile was more awake than usual in class and while some noticed many just ignored it. Lux had already made plans to meet with Poppy during lunch to see if they could figure out Kha'Zix's next move. Knowing the school, they weren't going to let anyone go off campus for lunch today so meeting with Janna was out of the question.

          After the final bell rang, Lux, Janna, and Poppy sprinted to the tower in the Library where they all managed to talk for the first time.

          "I'm sorry about yesterday. I should have seen the device and known what it was before it activated." Janna said, with a bit of embarrassment in her voice.

          "Would it have given you away?" Lux asked.

          "Probably." Janna replied.

          "Then you did nothing wrong." Lux said reassuringly.

          "Besides we managed to best it easily. It's going to happen so stop beating yourself up over it." Poppy said.

          Lux just turned to Poppy and smile. Knowing her attitude, it was good to have someone else there who could cheer Janna up, especially judging by the look on her face. Janna was in fact smiling because she had made a horrible showing and she hoped it didn't reflect on her, but it seems that their newest member was getting over it fast.

          "Anyway, we didn't see anyone helping Kha'Zix yesterday so he's still got some kind of plan. I think yesterday was probably an attempt to gather energy in preparation for a larger attack sometime soon." Lux said as she turned.

          "You are probably right about that." Dorcha said as she came into the room. Turning to see Poppy the first time, she just nodded. "Vel'Koz is meeting with the summoners to prepare the ritual."

          "It's not so much a ritual anymore is it." Solas came hopping in after her. "It's more of a gathering with specific instructions." Seeing all three Guardians looking at him weirdly he continued. "Ritual just sounded cooler at the time. It is however a spell with specific steps and instructions."

          "And it has to be performed very accurately. We believe that will be his real target. Try and disrupt the spell before it can be either completed, or completed to its fullest extent." Dorcha continued.

          "So what happens if it isn't completed?" Lux asked.

          "It means that Kha'Zix could bring in largest monsters next time with more power. We can't fully repair the magics while Malzahar continues to assault them but we can do some things." Solas replied.

          "We actually could repair them fully, but it would take time. More time than I fear we will have while the spell is being performed." Vel'Koz decided on that moment to float in. "We are only planning a partial reinforcement, mainly to try and prevent whatever that was a few days ago from getting back, at least for now. We can't do much if Malzahar is going to continue his assault without some extreme measures. Eventually we will have to try a full restoration but that isn't necessary now. "

          "Why not?" Poppy asked.

          "Well its complicated but the more damaged the magics are the easier they are to repair." Vel'Koz said in reply.

          "That doesn't make much sense." Janna said as Lux nodded.

          "Actually it does." Poppy spoke up drawing the attention of everyone, while Zephyr made his presence known by winding around Janna's Legs. Picking him up, she placed him on the counter where he could watch. "Knowing what I know from my dad, I'm guessing that they operate like plates in old fashioned armor. There it is much harder to repair the individual plates than to replace them entirely."

          Vel'Koz just hovered there shocked, but eventually recovered while Janna and Lux just stood dumbfounded. "That is actually correct. We are replacing the most damaged layers while we have to let others be. Again there may be a point where we have to do a full replacement of many of the magic layers but we aren't there yet."

          "So when is the ceremony or whatever you are calling it?" Poppy asked, clearly not wanting to wait.

          "Tomorrow night. I had hoped the three of you would help provide security while we work." Vel'Koz said.

          "I'll be there." Lux said.

          "Definitely." Janna nodded as she replied.

"Just point me in the right direction." Poppy said, clearly eager for another fight.

          "Good. It shouldn't take more than a half hour since we aren't doing that much, but you will need to keep them away from the summoning circle. I'll see you all tomorrow night. Until then, I have a lot of work to do. I'm beginning to see why you say sleep is good." And with that, Vel'Koz floated right back out leaving the three Guardians to discuss plans.

          "We'll see more when we get there, but we need to come up with plans for tomorrow since it is not only a school night, but we can't have our parents worrying about what we are doing. Any suggestions?" Janna finished looking between the other two and they just shook their heads. Janna racked her brain but couldn't come up with much. Many of the usual excuses that they would use were either not an option because of a school night, or because with all of the recent attacks, their parents would be checking their stories.

          "Perhaps suggesting that you are all studying for tests and merely stayed late here?" Nasus had wandered in while they were thinking and they all turned to him.

          "Not a bad idea but we can't stay here all night. Can we?" Janna asked turning to look at the wall and thinking.

          "Oh I'm sure I can think of a good excuse for your parents if it comes to that. Also driving you all home would only reinforce that. Anyway I'll see you all tomorrow at 8." Nasus said.

          Just as soon as he entered he left. The three just looked at each other.

          "Well it could work" Lux finally managed to say, but the look of uncertainty was paramount.

          "We'll just have to see what comes of it tomorrow. If the attack begins on time, they might use the excuse of 'shelter in place' which might help. Now all we have to do is just get here. That shouldn't be an issue." Janna said as she turned to the others.

          "I say we head home to try and sell that point." Lux said. Once they all got home, the sell was easier than any of them expected.

* * *

 

          The following day seemed to fly by and before they all knew it, they were racing for the tower. For their part, they actually did study for upcoming tests, the following week, while the rest of the Library seemed to just function around them. When 8 rolled around, they call split up and made their way to the tower through separate entrances. Vel'Koz and Nasus were waiting for them.

          "Ah good, now hopefully we won't need you but with Malzahar, I'm sure he knows this is coming. So you need to keep on your guard. This won't be easy, and we need time to complete the spells. Keep Kha'Zix and whatever he brings to the table away from us for as long as possible." Vel'Koz said, almost talking too fast.

          All three of them nodded in response and Lux turned to the other two. "Star Guardian Power Up." All three transformed and quickly donned cloaks that Nasus had laid out. Climbing into one of the vehicles owned by the Library, they headed out to where Vel'Koz had prepared. Lux was fully expecting it to be at or near the portal, but it wasn't. It was on the opposite side of town, on a large forested hilltop. Getting there, they saw the old fashioned magic that had become almost the stuff of myth.

          "Here is where we will perform the spells. We have some cover, but keeping whatever Malzahar will throw at us away for as long as possible is necessary. We will begin momentarily." Vel'Koz said indicating everything around them.

          Lux looked around at the summoners, many of them had gray hair and were clearly older, but not as old as she expected. Lux then noticed Dorcha and Solas perched in trees keeping another two sets of eyes out for trouble. Lux knew that explosions, talking, and yelling wouldn't disrupt the spell, but physical contact would.

          "Ok spread out we need to cover everything. If you see something, speak up but don't engage. We need to cover the whole area. You two are going to need to fill in the gaps." Lux said.

          "Will do. Good luck." Janna said, moving off.

          "Hopefully we won't need it." But no sooner were the words out of Lux's mouth did she regret saying them. There is no way they wouldn't be attacked especially with what was going on. Lux grabbed the cloak she had discarded when they arrived, threw it back on and headed behind a few trees. Janna and Poppy, catching the idea, did the same.

          For almost a half hour, the summoners worked in silence while the team kept a sharp eye out. They were careful to not let their guard down, but it was hard after a period of time. Poppy especially wasn't having a good time with waiting but the second they let their guard slip, is the second they would be attacked. Janna had just turned to look at another area when she saw him. Kha'Zix was being careful to keep out of sight, but he was making his way around Janna signaled to Dorcha who fetched Lux.

          Poppy also spotted something across from Kha'Zix, though she didn't know about him, so she signaled to Solas, who likewise took off to Lux. Having to make a split second decision, Lux knew that Poppy could probably handle herself in a fight so she sent Solas back, who after relaying the message, Poppy just smiled.

          "More fun for me" she whispered back. Lux moved to join Janna, and after a few minutes, both Kha'Zix and his minion charged. They were instantly hit. The minion from Poppy swinging her hammer into its chest, while Lux hit Kha'Zix with a binding and several bolts from her baton. Kha'Zix flew into a rage, clearly not expecting trouble, he charged again, only to get a singularity and more bolts to the face.

* * *

 

          Inside the circle, Vel'Koz looked up for brief moment to hear the sounds of battle. Knowing that he would probably be discovered in this fight, he prepared himself if need arose. Nasus however, had disappeared. Looking around, Vel'Koz was puzzled how he could have lost sight of him, but he knew that it was probably because he went to help.

* * *

 

          Across from Lux and Janna, Poppy was having fun. She wasn't letting the minion get close, and that was clearly causing aggravation. As it lunged again, Poppy threw her buckler and shielding herself but it still connected. Being knocked back into a tree, Poppy prepared herself for the next blow, but it didn't come. Looking up, she saw Nasus with this long staff coming out of the trees and on the ground, a circle which was slowing the minion's attack.

          Poppy got to her feet and charged again reciprocating the favor while Nasus brought his staff down on its head. The minion roared in rage, lashing out with what looked like whips but they both dodged the attacks.

          On the other side of the hill, Kha'Zix was making an almost desperate effort to get to the circle, but almost ten minutes of combat was starting to wear him out. He tried again to jump and throwing spikes at Lux, but was caught by another binding while Janna shielded the damage. Kha'Zix then turned to Janna and lashing out with his claws, he tried to get a good hit on her, but she dodge the attacks with grace while Zephyr managed to slow down Kha'Zix to the point of Lux hitting him with another singularity. Just as Kha'Zix roared again, he was hit in the face with a large energy blast.

          "You know it is rude to attack a lady don't you." Debonair transformed his weapon and hit the bug in the chest, sending him flying. Kha'Zix hit a tree and decided to take a second to catch his breath. "You might want to deal with the thing on the other side of the hill first. Nasus is helping, but it is slow going." He said as he turned to Lux.

          "Right. You will be ok?" Janna just grabbed her staff as a response, and nodded. "Don't do anything stupid then." Lux tore off to the other side while Janna and Debonair charged at Kha'Zix who just barely managed to dodge another hammer strike.

* * *

 

          Lux arrived at the other side of the hill to find Poppy and Nasus dealing with the minion, but clearly struggling. Just as it charged again with what looked like whips, Lux threw a barrier over them both absorbing the damage. Nasus turned and nodded while Poppy took advantage of the opportunity to charge again. Lux threw a binding while Poppy knocked it back. Nasus backed off to what looked like focus.

          Lux took it as he was hurt and needed to get out so she charged in with a singularity. Exploding it right in the minion's face, she threw a few bolts form her baton enraging it further. Lux then took a solid hit from the whips, knocking her to the ground while Poppy managed to slide and dodge, but only just. Lux threw a binding to keep the creature off of her while she regained her footing only to be knocked down again. Just as another whip came towards here, suddenly a very large creature stood before her.

          Clearly Nasus had been hiding power as he was now clearly a bit taller and charged at the minion. Clearly stunned, Poppy took advantage yet again and knocked it into another tree. Nasus brought his staff down on the minion, clearly dealing damage. Lux recovered and once Nasus dived out of the way focused her powers.

          "Final Spark." She yelled as she threw a beam of light towards the minion dusting it. "Now to deal with the giant bug." Lux, followed by Poppy and Nasus headed over to the other side of the hill where Kha'Zix didn't seem to be able to do much against Janna with her slows and shields, and Debonair who just kept either throwing energy pulses or hitting him with his hammer.

          With it now being a five on one. Lux just stood before the rest while throwing a binding at Kha'Zix to keep him rooted. While he dodged, he caught sight of his odds.

          "This has gone on long enough. Your time is up Kha'Zix. You have terrorized the people of this planet long enough. We are the Star Guardians you crazy monster. Sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you. Oh and friends."

          "You haven't defeated me yet!" Kha'Zix roared, but was instantly slammed back by two hammer hits, a staff hit, a singularity, and Zephyr. Kha'Zix was once again knocked into a tree and this time he wasn't getting up.

          Lux focused her energy one more time, and threw her beam one more time. "Final Spark."

          Kha'Zix took the beam fully in the face, and collapsed to the ground. The entire group of them carefully approached but he wasn't getting up. "He's done."

          "That is what you think." Suddenly a great wave came over them all, knocking them to the ground. When they all looked up they were surrounded by a mass of voidlings. "I will not lose one of my minions to you lot. So be gone." The voidlings attacked and while they were fending them off, Malzahar grabbed Kha'Zix and attempted to flee through a portal, that suddenly closed.

          Turning around, Malzahar saw that his voidlings hadn't done their jobs as well as he thought. Summoning his powers, Malzahar reached out to Lux and suddenly she was just standing still with a beam of energy connecting them. The rest of the team stood stunned.

          "So little Guardian, you have caused me enough problems and now I will find out who you are." Malzahar said as he forced his way into Lux's mind.

          "Don't be so sure." Lux reached inside herself and focused her energy an managed to resist Malzahar, but she knew it wouldn't last.

          "You are growing weaker. Just a little more and all of your secrets will be revealed." Malzahar taunted. Lux focused one last time, but suddenly she was alone with her thoughts. Poppy was recovering her hammer and Malzahar was in the air flying to the opposite side of the clearing they were in. Landing hard, Malzahar got up in the air, but was immediately hit by a beam of energy. Roaring in anger, he ripped open a portal, and vanished through it.

          Poppy seemed pleased with herself, and turned toward Vel'Koz who was just coming down, but he turned and immedatly started floating towards Lux. Poppy turned and sprinted towards Lux as well, who had collapsed. "You ok? Wake up." Poppy tried to wake Lux up and she eventually opened her eyes.

          "I do not want to experience that again." Lux said, jumping to her feet and looking around.

          "Hopefully you won't have to. I managed to make him retreat for now, but he will be back. Though I doubt we will see Kha'Zix for some time. The injuries you inflicted on him were extensive." Poppy said

          "Let's hope so. Is the spell over?" Lux turned to look at the summoners as she asked.

          "Yes it is. The five of you bought enough time for us to do all the work we wanted and a bit more. We can rest a bit easier, but we must still be on watch. For he will send someone else." Vel'Koz said as she came over.

          "You think he will identify you?" Janna said, joining them.

          "Doubtful. His face was full of beam. He might have easily assumed it was a weapon that was developed locally. I hope. Wait someone is missing." Vel'Koz said, but he didn't sound confident. Lux and the others looked around only to find Debonair gone. He had apparently stayed long enough to see Lux was ok, then retreated. "Sad really. I had hoped to thank the young man. His skills as a fighter are quite fine."

          Everyone just laughed at that and it broke the tension around the entire situation. Lux picked herself up and nodded to Vel'Koz who just bowed as best he could. Lux, Janna, and Poppy took off towards town and reaching the outskirts, powered down and walked home. Apparently the battle outside of town hadn't gotten any news as all three arrived home to their parents roasting them over being late on a school night. All three hung their heads and headed upstairs for bed. Finally able to enjoy a night of sleep without the threat of an attack. Or at least one they would know about.

* * *

 

          On the moon, Malzahar, was not only nursing his own wounds, but had placed Kha'Zix in a tank to help him recover.

          "To say that was careless is an understatement. That almost cost you everything." Cho'Gath said to Malzahar.

          "I know, but I wasn't expecting a void beam. Any idea what caused it?" Malzahar asked as he looked away from his own mess. Again.

          "No prophet. It is likely using magic and technology, the people of this world were able to reproduce it. It isn't outside the realm of possibility." Cho'Gath replied to Malzahar.

          "What about the other theory we won't talk about?" Malzahar turned to look at Cho'Gath proper, saying the thing neither of them wanted to talk about.

          "I doubt he was there. Vel'Koz was always an odd one. He only sought knowledge in his twisted way. There is no way he would go soft like that." Cho'Gath said, confidently.

          "True. So we must be prepared for more. Rek'Sai come here please." The Giant Void Burrower Queen made her way forward, stopping in front of Malzahar. "You are now in charge of collecting energy for our next assault. They repaired most of the damage we inflicted with our last attack, but we can still get monsters through."

          "I have a different approach. Please give me time and I will present it. I require time to build a nest first." Rek'Sai said, knowing she would get what she wanted.

          "Then go, but be warned, I will not tolerate failure." Malzahar said.

          "With respect prophet, Kha'Zix failed numerous times and yet…" Rek'Sai pointed her tail to the tank which he was housed in.

          "...he still delivered results. As small or large as they were. If you deliver, then losing something is an acceptable loss." Malzahar retorted, dismissing Rek'Sai.

          "Understood." Rek'Sai said in defeat.

          "Now go." Malzahar yelled.

* * *

 

          On Runeterra, Vel'Koz knew he couldn't relax, but he sensed a new presence.

          "What is it?" Nasus asked as Vel'Koz had frozen in his floating around his office.

          "Rek'Sai. She's here."

          "Well, this will be interesting then. Our Guardians will have to be prepared."

          "They will be. I'm sure of it." Vel'Koz turned to look out the window as a chapter in their war closed, and another began.


	12. New Day, New Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new battle begins and a new adversary comes to challenge the Guardian Team. Meanwhile they continue the search for their other two Guardians, knowing the battle may be won, but the war is not over. As much as they wish it would be.

          In the week since the last battle with Kha'Zix and Malzahar, there had been little activity. While Lux, Janna, and Poppy knew their battle wasn't over, the lull was starting to drive them a bit crazy. Knowing that the Burrower was their next enemy, they prepared themselves, but even Vel'Koz couldn't determine when or where she would strike. Clearly she was being careful and watching the movements of the city.

* * *

 

          On the Moon, Malzahar was becoming impatient with Rek'Sai and her lack of action. Summoning the Burrower to his throne room he demanded answers.

          "Oh Prophet, my plan is almost ready. I said I would need time and you granted me the time I needed. My nest is complete." Rek'Sai said as she kept from making eye contact with Malzahar.

          "Very well then. What is your first target?" Malzahar asked.

          "While Kha'Zix attempted to gather energy at large, it was not only very open and public, but it always attracted the attention of those pesky guardians. I plan to strike at single targets, gathering a large amount of energy from one person and those immediate vicinity. It may be slower, but it will be much more controlled." Rek'Sai said as she laid out her plan.

          "It also leaves more room for things to go wrong. Part of what made Kha'Zix successful is even if he failed, he usually managed to get something. Your plans are all or nothing." Malzahar pointed out.

          "Indeed, but that isn't the only thing." Rek'Sai pulled a seeker from her back. "This is what will allow me to succeed. Once the person gets to their peak energy, the seeker will grow into a monster and distract the guardians while I harvest. While I will consume some energy in the process, I should get away clean."

          "That is still a dangerous plan." Cho'Gath said as he walked in.

          "No one asked you Cho'Gath. And Kog'Maw it isn't for eating." Rek'Sai said as she turned to each of them in turn.

          "But I'm hungry." Kog'Maw said.

          "You are always hungry. Evolve and learn." Rek'Sai retorted. The thing that called itself Kog'Maw sulked off. "That thing is too young to be given this level of responsibility."

          "Deny it all you want Rek'Sai, he did come up with the idea to return here." Rek'Sai wanted to counter but she knew eventually Malzahar would outwit her. Bowing, she grabbed her seaker and after ripping open a portal, returned to her nest outside the city proper. She carefully made it to hide from those guardians in an area they shouldn't check. A natural cave system that had been closed off for instability.

          "Now to seek the city and find my first prey." Rek'Sai burrowed beneath the ground and using void magic, moved just underneath the surface and into the city. The magic allowed her to pass through objects with ease, but she knew she still had to be careful. One wrong move and she would end up stuck in the planet. She refocused and pressed onward.

* * *

 

          "Move." Lux rolled out of the way as Poppy brought her hammer down, barely missing her by inches. Janna responded with a shield and a slow on Poppy while Lux threw a binding to root her in place. Poppy dodged it with relative ease and sung again. Nasus was watching the team practice while giving out advice. Or at least that had been the plan until he realized that having someone tell them when to stop would be a better use of his time.

          "Ok enough." Poppy who had her hammer in the air to attack again, brought it down to rest, and then sat on it while Lux collapsed to the ground. Janna just floated over to a chair and rested.

          "Why am I always the one running and dodging?" Lux asked, as she breathed heavily. 

          "Because you keep getting yourself into that situation crazy. You need to move around more and not just dodge at the last second." Poppy said looking at her.

          "I know, it's just hard to remember. I thought I was moving around enough but guess not." Lux said as she hung her head. 

          "Well the threat of a hammer will do that to you. Now how about we have something to eat before we go home. I'm famished." Poppy powered down and headed downstairs.

          "Is she right?" Lux asked, turning to Janna. 

          "To a degree. You are moving, but you need to keep on the move more than you are doing." Lux just rolled her eyes but they were probably both right to some degree. Nasus followed Poppy while Janna and Lux powered down. They took one last look around the training room, which was already beginning to magically repair itself before heading down themselves.

          On the first floor, Poppy had already pulled the thing out of the over she put in there earlier. Now it smelled absolutely delightful. With the attacks down, they were able to pull off the "I'll be at so and so's house for the day" and their parents wouldn't check. Poppy carefully pulled the top off pan and what was inside looked like something that exploded. "Don't judge it by how it looks, trust me, it's good."

          Lux, Janna, and Nasus carefully looked at each other before grabbing a plate and taking some. Poppy was proven right as it was extremely good. Before they all knew it, they were on their 3rd plates while Poppy was on her 4th. Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr also seemed to be enjoying it as they all quickly ate their fill. As they all finished, the door opened and Vel'Koz came floating in.

          "Bad news everyone. Oh I'm guessing I should give you all a few minutes." He said quickly as he looked around and at the now completely empty dish on the counter. Vel'Koz floated back out while the group slowly came back to their senses after a good meal. After about 10 minutes Vel'Koz floated back in.

          "We good?" He asked?

          "We good. What's up?" Lux said, suppressing a burp. 

          "Rek"Sai is always cunning, but she is carefully using void magic to hunt around the city. I'm unsure what she is looking for but it is only a matter of time until she finds it. Normally I would suggest interfering with her, but since we have no idea what she is doing, best to just let her look. She could be hunting or recon. Either way, we wouldn't stop her for long. It's also best that she doesn't find out we can track her when she does this." Vel'Koz said, with a bit of annoyance in her voice. 

          "So basically go home as if nothing is going on unless you call?" Janna asked. 

          "Basically. The less you expose yourselves the better." They all nodded while grabbing their bags. Lux carefully picked up Dorcha and Solas and placed them in her bag. They were still half out of it from the meal. Zephyr was picked up by Janna, and Vel'Koz just looked at Nasus, who had actually fallen asleep. The three Guardians giggled and carefully made their way out. Not wanting to expose themselves, they split up quickly and made their way home via separate routes.

          For their parent's part, they took the three at their word and considering they were home early enough on a school night, they weren't scolded.

* * *

 

          During the night, Rek'Sai continued to hunt, but it almost seemed in vain. She found many potential targets, but couldn't find just one. Almost at the point of giving up on her first day, she finally felt something and tore off after it. Finally reaching the place, she unburrowed herself to look into the house. Inside was a single occupant. Rek'Sai reburrowed herself, and shot her seeker at him. The seeker attached and carefully hid itself on his neck.

          'Now my plan begins. Hope you enjoy your boosted energy level tomorrow. Now where do you work? An amusement park? Seriously? Well, beggars can't be choosers. Well not now at least.' Rek'Sai tore off back to her next to wait for the seeker to incubate during the day time.

* * *

 

          The following morning greeted Lux, Janna, and Poppy with a clouded but unrainy day. Perfect day for a fight if it arose. But all three knew that was probably going to happen. Sensing a shift during the night, all three grabbed their bags and made sure they were packed in case a fight did break out. Lux was trying to focus and determine where the energy was coming from, but had no luck so she turned to Dorcha and Solas.

          "I need you two to go looking around and find where that energy is coming from. Clearly we have a new enemy and she is being different. Can you do that?" They both nodded in reply and quickly hopped out the window to investigate. Lux grabbed her bag and headed out.

          "Hey Lux, can you slow down?" Turning, Lux smiled as she saw Amy running to her.

          "Sorry had my mind on a few things. We still good to go to the mall later?" Lux asked. 

          "Sure. My parents have relaxed a bit since the attacks have stopped, but I'm worried that they are only a pause." Amy said, her voice carrying her worry along with it.

          'If you only knew how right you were.' Lux thought to herself.

          "Hopefully not. Let's hope they are done for good. Now get your mind off that and let's talk about where are going to go." They spent the rest of the walk to school talking about their trip later. 

          Poppy was barely managing to stay awake in class as she again over did it when it came to staying up late. But she knew how to get away with it and no one else in class honestly cared enough to report her. She was just waiting on the update so she knew when and where to start her job. In the meantime, she tried to not fall asleep too much.

          "Janna will you pay attention." Janna was shook out of her stupor of looking out the window by her teacher walking by while they were supposed to be working on an in class assignment. Janna just moved her arm to show she was done, and her teacher nodded and moved on. Janna resumed looking out the window, knowing that sooner or later she would be in yet another fight.

          Dorcha and Solas meanwhile were searching the city for the mysterious energy, but so far they had come up empty. Eventually giving up when they saw a large amount of police shooting in the opposite direction. Nodding to each other, as much as they could, they took off after them. But the search was in vain as the police were just responding to reports of a bank robbery. Sighing, they both quickly gave up for the day and decided to hope home and get some lunch.

          Vel'Koz for his part was also attempting to locate Rek'Sai, but had so far failed in his task so far. She had always been elusive but never this elusive. Clearly some new tricks but Vel'Koz knew that her plan would eventually come to light so he just had to wait out. Something no one was good at doing. Giving up for the day, he returned to his studies. On his table was a map and he was carefully making notes on it.

          The day seemed to drag on for some reason for the three Guardians as they attempted to wait for the next fight, but also to try and focus on their school studies for the time being. Eventually however the day came to an end and the three went their separate ways for the day. Lux with Amy to the mall, Janna to the Library to study, and Poppy went home to work with her father on a new project.

* * *

 

          During the night is when Rek'Sai moved her plan forward. The seeker had a day to grow, and tomorrow would be the day when everything went up. Laughing at her plan, she was on her back in her nest while the seeker waited for the opportune moment to strike.

          The following morning was a normal one, but for the three Guardians, it was anything but. They all noticed the change in the energy from the night. Rek'Sai was definitely making her move, and it would be today. Given it was still a school day, that would make getting out difficult, but not impossible. One of the downsides of being a Guardian all three of them learned quickly was that when void energy became abundant, it was chilling to them more so than anyone else.

          Lux grabbed her blankets and held them a little closer. Despite the fact it was a rather pleasant day temperature wise, she was still cold. Dorcha woke up and noticed.

          "Cold?" Dorcha asked, looking at Lux.

          "Freezing almost. Whatever that thing is doing she's going to make her move today. We need to you go out and start looking. Find the source of that energy. Perhaps with all of it around it won't be difficult. There are certain things about this that just annoy me." Lux said, still clutching the blankets. Dorcha just nodded, prodded Solas awake, and they quickly dashed off to eat before moving around the city.

          Lux finally pulled herself out of her bed and after grabbing a hoodie, she headed downstairs. That got some attention at the breakfast table which she managed to explain away, but her parents were still eyeing her. She knew that if she called out, there would be trouble. So she had to come up with something else. Luckily there might be a way. But for now, Lux put that at the back of her mind and focused on getting to school.

          Janna likewise felt cold when she woke, knowing what that meant. Turning to Zephyr, she just nodded and he went off hopping out her window. Janna likewise grabbed a sweater and headed to school. She knew all of the right ways she could easily leave and get back without too much commotion but she was worried for Lux and Poppy as that wouldn't be as easy.

          Poppy didn't wake to being so cold, but that was in part because her father was working in his forge and the whole house was warm, but like the others, she felt the cold of the void. Knowing she had to come up with an excuse to get out of class, she decided that her father's passion for his work might be his way out. Poppy headed into the forge room and began assisting her father, but much to her annoyance, he insisted she go to school after he took a quick look at the clock. Poppy reminded herself to take it down, again, and left.

          Lux and Poppy slipped notes to each other as they passed in the hallway as they headed to their classes. Each were worried about the same thing and they asked the same question. Lux put her brain to work but couldn't come up with a solution without their parents getting notified. Maybe an idea would come to her during the day but she wasn't hopeful as the school had cracked down a lot since the attacks began. Lux just put her head onto her desk and buried herself in her thoughts.

          In the city, seeing a poro wasn't too uncommon so Dorcha and Solas just made their way around the city looking for the source of the energy. Unlike yesterday, it wasn't hard to find it this time. Eventually they found themselves at the amusement park just outside the city. When the two reached there, they noticed Zephyr already looking around for the source. Solas jumped after him while Dorcha stayed perched in the tree.

          "You go get the Guardians, I'll look for the source. You can move faster than us." Solas said as he moved further. 

          "Very well. Be careful, it seems to be focused around one individual." Zephyr said as he took off towards the schools while Solas began his search. Solas thought he would be searching for a while but it only took him a few minutes to get a few clues. Apparently a manager was going on the warpath and correcting every little thing. Solas decided to hunt for the manager, and instantly was rewarded with him rounding a corner. Diving out of sight quickly, the void energy feeding off him was incredible. Solas kept track of the guy while waiting for the Guardians to arrive.

          Which was going to be a problem. Zephyr hoped Lux had a plan because he knew Janna could get away easily, but getting Poppy and Lux out was going to be an issue. Knowing it was close to Lunch, he might get lucky.

          Lux racked her brain but it didn't want to work for some reason as she kept coming up with bad plans, and then worse ones on top of those. Admitting defeat for the moment, she turned to the clock and was thankful it was almost lunch. The bell that rang just a few minutes later was a welcome relief. Lux left with Amy and some of her classmates to have lunch and shaking her head to Poppy as they passed again. Poppy was a bit put out but given all of the options, theirs was limited.

          Reaching Janna first, Zephyr communicated to her and Janna immediately set a plan into action. Faking a text from her parents, she managed to get herself out of class and she sprinted with Zephyr towards the other school. Seeing both Lux and Poppy sitting apart, she knew that Lux hadn't come up with a plan so Janna formed one of her own.

          "Zephyr, I'm going to give you a few minutes." Janna said, talking while trying to run.

          "To do what?" Zephyr asked. 

          Janna ducked further back into the trees she was hiding in and pulled out her pendant. Zephyr turned only to see Janna transforming.

"Star Guardian Power Up." Zephyr turned his usual invisible as soon as Janna transformed, but was still confused. "Zephyr, head into the school and yank every single fire alarm. That way, they will be out for the rest of the day and we can get the two out." 

          Lux noticed a slight light in the corner of her eye, and then something floating towards the school. Making sure that her classmates were too engrossed in their conversation to see where she was looking, Lux turned her eyes to the grove of trees on the outskirts of the school and saw Janna there, fully transformed. Lux knew that she had a plan and decided to just play along with it. Returning to her lunch, she saw that she had been picking at an empty box for about a good 5 minutes and quickly put it back in her bag.

          A few seconds later, the fire alarm went off and the sprinklers went crazy. Zephyr made his way throughout the whole school pulling every alarm. Because, even with the water, he was invisible, it was impossible to know exactly what happened. Just minutes later the fire department arrived and after looking around, they found that every alarm had been pulled. Knowing it would take the whole day to reset the system, Headmistress Fiora just dismissed the whole school while vowing to find a culprit. Lux and Poppy hearing that, sprinted to the grove of trees while the rest of the students talked about what they were going to do with their day off.

          "Star Guardian Power Up." Lux and Poppy quickly joined Janna as Zephyr filled them fall in.

          "The culprit is at the amusement park. Hurry. Solas has been keeping an eye on him, but with the levels of void energy, it won't be long." Janna said quickly. 

          "Right." The three took off towards the park, but as they arrived they noticed something odd. People were flooding out of the park, and on a weekday, where there was no one there, that wasn't a good sign. Lux looked around for an entry point and noticed Dorcha in a tree. Jumping over the fence, they met up.

          "It's one of the managers. He's apparently gone on a nitpicking spree, and his energy has been boosted. Quickly he was at the back of the part when I last had eyes on him, but given the panic, it shouldn't be hard to find." Dorcha told the Guardians. 

          "Come on." Lux said and everyone followed her through the park. Somehow, despite all the panic, they managed to move through the crowd relatively easily. People just seemed to part around them. While they carefully made their way to the back of the park. Upon reaching the back of the park, they found more than a dozen individuals on the ground while there was some type of scorpion like creature gathering orbs.

          "Hold it right there." Lux shouted as the three of them came into clear view. Rek'Sai turned and smiled a bit as she saw her new prey.

          "Ah guardians welcome. Welcome to my stage, and welcome to your demise. You may have defeated Kha'Zix, but you will not defeat me. But before we fight, see how you do against my friend. Luan come here." The three Guardians turned and saw the infected manager, walking towards them. He was almost like a zombie but as he got close, he suddenly straightened up and froze.

          All three Guardians tightened their grips on their weapons, because a second later he collapsed and what was Luan came forward. To say he was ugly was an understatement. More like an train wreck between what looked like safety harnesses for the park's coasters, a normal human body, but with wings for arms. Lux just took a brief glance at her other Guardians before they realized that Rek'Sai had already passed the orbs through a portal. Knowing their mission to stop energy recovery was over, they moved to stopping before they could start again.

          Luan made the first move in launching what looked like fathers at them from his wings, but it turned out to be paperwork once it hit. Very sharp paperwork as it left marks on Poppy's armor as one piece scathed her. "Injured on the job? That's another 50 forms" he roared sending more their way. Lux threw a barrier around the entire squad and they dodged out of the way of more. Luan took to the sky as the three Guardians split up. Poppy charged after Rek'Sai, while Lux and Janna went after Luan.

          Rek'Sai was clearly caught a bit unprepared to see the three split up and was almost pinned into a building when Poppy charged her. The resulting hammer blow on the ground didn't miss as Rek'Sai tried to dodge another attack but was caught in the depression and then it exploded in her face. Poppy threw her buckler as Rek'Sai charged and shielded herself from most of the damage but took a few scratches across her back which were absorbed by her armor.

          Poppy, undaunted, came at Rek'Sai again, and this time she hit her mark knocking the creature back into a building and briefly stunning Rek'Sai. Recovering, the void creature threw out more scratches as she spun in a circle, this time connecting but Poppy absorbed some of the damage, but her armor still took a few hits. Rek'Sai then burrowed underground and Poppy carefully positioned herself to receive the next blow.

          Lux and Janna meanwhile had dodged behind another building. "You know, I've always hated paperwork." Janna just briefly rolled her eyes at Lux before they had to dodge more flying papers. Lux threw another barrier before Luan landed before them and pointed his wings at them both.

          "Leaving so soon? But you haven't filled out your time cards. Here's a pen." With that, what looked like ink shot from the tips of his wings at them. It connected with Lux who spun behind a building to try and clear it out of her eyes. Janna meanwhile used her experience to keep getting hit with the ink, or whatever it was. Behind the building, Lux managed to find a hose and after some reaching managed to get the ink off of her face at least.

          "I really hope this doesn't persist once I power down, now where is that thing." She ran out from behind the building and after just a few seconds, threw a binding to ensnare Luan and threw a couple of bolts from her baton for good measure. Zephyr flew to him, slowing him, and Janna spun up a tornado. Despite the collateral damage, it was quite effective at knocking Luan around and then to the ground.

          Lux threw a singularity at him to keep him there, while Janna threw a shield over Lux while she focused. Luan didn't seem to know what was coming so instead charged at Lux, who just finished focusing her powers. "Final Spark." Luan was then nothing more than a pile of dust on the ground. "Now back to the new ugly thing."

          Lux and Janna emerged into the area where they last saw Poppy fighting Rek'Sai and at the edge of the large area, they came to an abrupt stop. Poppy was on one knee in the center while Lux looked and didn't see Rek'Sai. Janna looked around but couldn't see anything. Then they both felt it. Soemthing was moving underground and that is what Poppy was listening for. But they also felt it getting stronger. "Get out of there" she yelled. Lux and Janna dived, but they were too late.

          Rek'Sai roared up from beneath the ground and knocked both Lux and Janna into the air. She took a few swings with her claws at them, and both of them were not only coming down hard, but injured as well. Poppy was already charging in, and once Rek'Sai landed back on the ground and spun to Lux, Poppy charged. Lux threw a binding to make sure that Rek'Sai wouldn't go anywhere, and Poppy sent the burrower into yet another building. Janna positioned herself in front as Rek'Sai charged again but Janna channeled her powers and summoned the monsoon.

          The winds knocked Rek'Sai into the building for a second time, but this time it actually sent the burrower into it. Then it collapsed on her. Roaring in rage, and pain, she charged again only to see Poppy spinning her hammer above her head. Knowing she made a mistake, Rek'Sai tried to change direction, but a singularity and binding from Lux, and Zephyr from Janna slowed her turn and then locked her in place. "See you over there." Poppy brought the hammer down sending Rek'Sai flying into a field near the parking lot.

          The Guardians quickly followed to see Rek'Sai getting up from her flight. Now clearly in pain, she roared again and turned to the park, only to see the three of them standing there.

          "It's over. Surrender now." Lux said. 

          "Really? Do you really think I would do that?" Rek'Sai said, looking between the three. 

          "Yes. We are the Star Guardians after all. Sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you."

          "You know, Kha'Zix kept saying you do that and yet it doesn't work." Rek'Sai moved to dodge the expected attack, only to get Zephyr dragging her down, and then Poppy's buckler and hammer to her face. Roaring again, Poppy moved around for yet another attack while Janna threw a shield and Lux a singularity. Now in a lot of trouble, Rek'Sai roared and burrowed again.

          Lux, Janna, and Poppy formed back to back while they felt around for Rek'Sai. On a overlooking tree, Dorcha and Solas kept a close eye on the fight. Just when it seemed Rek'Sai would come up, all three Guardians moved and dodged her unburrowing. Rek'Sai expecting to catch at least one of them only swung at empty air. Knowing she was beaten, on her decent ripped open a portal and fled.

          "Well that does it. She probably didn't use the full range of her abilities, but clearly we have a new advisory. Now, let's get back to the tower." Lux said. Janna and Poppy nodded and just a few seconds later as they started to take off, Nasus drove up. The three of them quickly grabbed the cloaks he threw out to them, and after they clambered in, he took off.

          "Power down." Once they were clear, the tinted windows of the van helped to conceal not only Nasus, but the Guardians themselves. Nasus made easy work of the traffic, and before they knew it, they were at the Library. Finding their bags in the back, they all grabbed them as they left. Nasus followed them into the tower where Vel'Koz was waiting. Noticing them enter, he quickly rolled up a square sheet of what looked like parchment or very thick paper.

          "It is good you all managed to survive that. I had thought Rek'Sai would need more time to prepare, but clearly she isn't worried so much about her nest as I thought she would. Or she set it up faster than she previously has. She could have also made it smaller than normal, but it is all worth exploring. But before I continue to speculate, let's talk about that." Vel'Koz floated over to the globe.

          "Rek'Sai uses seekers to attach to people from the planet the void is invading. Once they are attached, they enhance the person's energy until they are big enough to grow in an instant to a large size. When they do that, they drain all of the energy around them. It is a much smaller radius, but it is extremely powerful. She could theoretically do more with this method than Kha'Zix ever did." All three Guardians just looked at each other with looks of apprehension and worry.

          "The advantage we have is that the seekers need time to grow. They boost the energy of those individuals for at least one day so that their actions will seem to be either passionate or overbearing. Obviously we saw the latter with this individual today but we could easily see the other. There is something that does bother me however…Rek'Sai rarely lets a defeat go unanswered." 

          "Perhaps she knows she was outclassed and is planning her next attack?" Janna asked, but she already knew the answer. 

          "Unlikely." Just as Vel'Koz finished, a large groundquake shook the tower. Turning on the TV, it was obvious what was going on. Rek'Sai didn't like defeat so readily.

          "Let's go." Lux said.

          "Star Guardian Power Up." The three charged out of the tower and were quickly at the center of town where Rek'Sai was with a large monster. Looking around, Poppy charged after the monster while Lux and Janna dealt with Rek'Sai. The Burrower, caught off guard by their sudden appearance, suffered through a binding, singularity, and multiple bolts from Lux's baton before she managed to burrow underground. Lux and Janna carefully stood their ground before dodging out of the way when she came back up, only to again swipe at air. Lux threw yet another binding, while a large thud told her that Poppy was having fun.

          Indeed she was. Poppy slammed the monster into a building before hitting it hard with her hammer. It roared in pain, but something was wrong with it. It seemed weak and slow to react. Almost as if was either tired or did not have the ability to react quickly. Poppy found dodging its next attack easy and again swung her hammer, connecting hard. The monster roared again, and Poppy seeing an opportunity quickly looked over at Lux, who nodded. Poppy charged again, pinning the monster before raising her hammer above her head. Using her powers, she spun it and once she knew it was ready, which was also when the monster was coming around, she brought it down on the ground with full force. The monster soared through the air towards Lux and Janna, who dodged out of the way at the last second, leaving the monster to fall on Rek'Sai, who collapsed under its weight, clearly not able to burrow back underground.

          Lux threw a binding, trapping them both, and focused her powers. Janna threw a barrier on her for good measure as Lux focused. Finally throwing her baton "Final Spark." Lux threw her beam and it hit square on the two of them. Rek'Sai roared in pain as the beam caused her so much pain. She got up but as soon as she charged, a pulse of energy hit her full in the side.

          Lux turned to see Debonair for the first time. "You really have to stop losing my invitations." He said as he moved in. Rek'Sai, now heavily outnumbered, decided that flight was better than fight. Before any of them could move, Rek'Sai ripped open a portal and vanished through it.

          "Just enough it seems." Lux said turning to Debonair. "Be careful with this one. She uses seekers to hunt her prey and…" but Debonair held up his hand.

          "I know. Let's just say that we'll have to be careful." He said. 

          "Agreed." Debonair took off while the Guardians just stared at him. Meanwhile the police were starting to descend on the site and they all thought a hasty exit was the best option. As they reached the parameter, they found a small grove of trees and powered down after jumping into one. Pretending to be three school girls who had the day off because of a stupid fire alarm, which earned a few scratches for Zephyr, which he was more than happy to take while circling them all, they all climbed down again and headed for the center of the park they were on the outskirts of.

          The three pretended to take notice of the large amount of police that was swarming towards the center of town. They all stopped to watch before they headed back to the tower. There, a note from Vel'Koz asked them to wait until he got back as he had been asked by the police to come and see the results of their fight. They all waited about 30 minutes before he came back.

          "My apologies Guardians. They had more than a few questions. Now to business. I cannot explain why Rek'Sai attacked again so quickly. Possibly to judge your reaction times is my best bet. As to her actions, they were rash, so I doubt Malzahar will be impressed. Anyway, I hope you all can get some sleep and prepare for the next target as I'm sure it will not be far away."

          "So here we go again?" Poppy asked.

          "Here we go again." Vel'Koz replied. All four of them looked at each other before nodding and they all headed home. Vel'Koz went to a cabinet and pulled out the roll of parchment he hid earlier. Looking at it carefully, he made a few more notes on it before he saw Nasus walk in. "We should have everything we need. All that needs to be done now, is to start construction."

          "I will see to it. Hopefully we focus everything we need in time." Nasus said. 

          "Oh with this, I'm not worried about time. This has to be done right." Vel'Koz said. 

          "I understand. What about the other thing?" Nasus asked.

          "I'm looking into that myself. Do not worry. I'm sure they are both fine." Vel'Koz replied. 

          "I worry at times. They have been quiet as of late." Nasus said with a bit foreboding in his voice. 

          "I know, but they also said they would probably be out of contact for a while since they were chasing that lead down." Vel'Koz said. He also couldn't keep the worry about his void, but he mixed it with confidence. 

          "I guess you are right. I worry for nothing then." Nasus said, getting up. 

          "Worrying isn't a sign of weakness. It is a strength. And as soon as I have something, I will let you know. Oh." Vel'Koz turned to the device on his tentacle. "They are reporting in."

          Vel'Koz and Nasus made their way to his office. Once inside, Vel'Koz plugged a few things into the computer and the screen came into focus. "Gentlemen, how goes the hunt?"

          "Well actually. We weren't able to work with a lot of the information but we were able to eliminate many false leads. Currently we have only one real lead." Ezreal said. 

          "One lead of many. It won't be easy to track it down but then, nothing ever is. Brother how are you?" Renekton asked. 

          "Fine, take care of each other will you." Nasus replied. 

          "Oh don't worry. This one won't be harmed by anyone. Much." Ezreal rolled his eyes and placed his head into his arms as Renekton, Nasus, and Vel'Koz laughed. "We haven't had much luck with again the real leads, but knowing which are real and which are fake now helps us."

          "Indeed it does. Now if we could only get some new ones. But I'm sure they will come in time." Ezreal said, his head still in his hands.

          "Just keep it up." Nasus said. 

          "We know." And the screen went dark. Nasus walked around and took a seat as he was visibly relieved.

          "Well there's something. At least we can continue to press forward." Vel'Koz said.

          "Indeed. Now I'm sure we can both find something else to do." And they both left.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile on Runeterra's moon, Rek'Sai was not in the best situation for relief. She was at the foot of Malzahar's throne and he wasn't happy. "Rek'Sai, I thought you were more intelligent than that. Let a lost fight go and get away with your spoils. You collected a lot of energy and then turned around and lost much of it in an act that was beneath you."

          "I know Prophet. It was foolish and I allowed my pride to interfere with my judgment but I could not let a defeat like that go unanswered."

          "You can and you shall. It is better to live to fight another day, then lose energy needlessly, which you did. I'm not happy with your first excursion, especially since in his first, Kha'Zix may have been caught off guard, but at least he learned over time to not let an defeat spook him. You need to learn that lesson quickly. Now be gone."

          "Yes Prophet." Rek'Sai walked out of the chamber and into the general palace. She was furious with herself for letting that get away, but she also knew that energy was low right now and that even Malzahar made mistakes. She could not afford to make another one on that scale. She opened a portal and returned to her nest.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile, in her room, Lux took a look outside before turning in and knew that sooner or later, there would be a time where she probably wouldn't be able to hide what she was. Looking back at her door, she knew that their magic would only hide their identities for so long. But maybe that time was far away, or closer than she thought. Either way, she kenw that time was running out before Malzahar wouldn't be collecting energy, instead he would be using it to bring his full force against them.

          "Well maybe we can survive long enough to find the others."

          "I hope so. We need all the help we can get. We will look but there isn't anything that sticks out right now. Maybe a different kind of threat needs to be present for them to show." Dorcha said.

          "Or something else. We need to be patient." Solas continued.

          "Problem. Being patient isn't going to be easy."

          "No it won't." Lux moved to her bed, and settled down for some well deserved sleep.


	13. A Real Alley of a Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With her options of retaliatory attacks limited, Rek'Sai needs to find someone who could overwhelm the Guardians in one shot. Not an easy task

          Rek'Sai silently patrolled the city looking for someone who could do what she wanted, which was completely an utterly destroy those pesky guardians in one shot. But finding someone like that is rare. So she carefully looked around, but knew that while there were plenty of good marks, looking specifically for someone who matched her requirements was going to be difficult. With dawn approaching, she had to give up for this night, and return to explore a few leads tomorrow.

* * *

 

          The crisp morning air was at odds with the air in the workshop. Poppy was taking advantage of the weekend to help her father in his workshop. Looking around, she took stock of the work they were doing. Making custom orders like this was rare, and her father was sparing no expense in the quality, or the craftsmanship. For the most part Poppy was just making sure things were hot enough, or working on a few small things. After an almost all night secession, he finally put his hammer down.

          "Poppy, please be sure to close the door when you leave. I'll clean this up later. If you mother protests, I'll deal with it. Just put that away." And with that he left.

          "Finally." Poppy made sure to check to make sure that he was really gone, before she closed the door and pulled her pendent from the necklace she was wearing. "Star Guardian Power Up." Poppy's transformation almost caused her hammer to crash on a workbench but she managed to grab it in time. "Now just a few things." Poppy took the strongest hammer her father had and tried to make a few dents in her own hammer, but it failed. Then throwing caution to the winds, took it and slammed it into her leg armor. It hurt a bit, but the armor itself was undamaged. "Well that answers a few things. Now to make sure I didn't real damage."

          She carefully checked over the hammer for damage or stress, and seeing none, carefully returned it, powered down, put away the things her father asked, and left. While she wasn't up all night like him, she was still up early enough to be somewhat tired. Deciding to take a nap, she went back to her room and fell back asleep.

          Janna was still up when Poppy got up to help her father, and the fact it was late morning didn't seem to faze her as she finally got up. Shaking the tired feeling from her eyes and in general, Janna turned to the homework she put off yesterday, and after a sigh, she decided to start working on it. Knowing that eventually she could be able to just blow the weekend away would be worth it, especially with her parents away for it. They did say she could invite a few friends over if she wished, but that was still a few hours away.

          Lux for her part was up much earlier than she wanted due to her brother almost crashing through her bedroom door as he struggled to leave with his equipment. Being woken up early was never a good way to get on her good side, but as he rushed out, all Lux could do was try and fall back asleep, but she quickly sensed that wasn't going to happen. So instead of fighting with it, she just went on her computer for an hour before heading down to grab something to eat. For once she thought she could get a quiet weekend, but if her gut told her anything, it wouldn't stay quiet for long.

          Both Lux and Poppy were planning to spend part of the long weekend at Janna's since her parents were out and their parents didn't know that, or at least not the whole story. This would give them an opportunity to connect more with each other. Lux turned to the clock again and groaned. It was still hours before she could go and staying at home today wasn't an option she wanted to deal with, but she also had little choice because if she left before her parents returned, she wouldn't hear the end of it. Groaning again, she put her head back down and grabbed the nearest book and started her homework.

          Dorcha and Solas meanwhile had left to see if they could track down a seeker but so far they hadn't had much luck. They also were looking for Rek'Sai's nest, as she always made one, but struck out on that as well. Growing frustrated, they both just decided to settle in the park and wait until Lux had to leave for Janna's. At least they could probably get some free food from the people in the park.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile, Rek'Sai was searching for that specific someone, and again wasn't having much luck. She knew venturing out of her nest during the daylight was an extremely bad idea for many reasons, so she stayed put. Still, eventually she would have to make a move and find someone. She decided to sweep the areas of the city she missed the other day. Until then however, she decided to get some sleep. Roaring with a huge yawn, she curled up and went to sleep.

          Her nap was not lost on Cho'Gath or Malzahar who were watching. "I told you she wouldn't. She knows better." Cho'Gath said to Malzahar.  

          "Indeed, but the fact her nest is so close to the city is still worrying. If she makes just a few small mistakes, it will be found. Is there no way to prevent it?" Malzahar asked.

          "No Prophet. The nature of the surrounding rock makes anything like that hard to impossible. We risk damaging the portal if we try." Cho'Gath replied. 

          "Very well then. We can at least hope she keeps it secret." Malzahar said. 

* * *

 

          The rest of the day dragged on for Lux as she kept trying to do homework, but kept getting distracted. Finally giving up all together, she threw her books onto her bed, grabbed her headset and decided to waste the rest of the time playing games. After just a few games, the clock seemed to have picked up as it was close enough to where she could leave without her parents feeling she was leaving too early. Bragging the bag she had packed hours ago, Lux headed downstairs only to see Garen waiting.

          "They told me to drive you." Garen said. 

          "Hope I haven't keep you waiting long." Lux replied. 

          "Not really. I've just been watching movies." Garen indicated the tablet on the table. Lux just nodded.

          "Well let's go then. I'm assuming you are also going somewhere?" Lux asked walking to the door. 

          "Spending the night at Jayce's." Lux grabbed her things while Garen grabbed his bag and they headed out to his car. The drive to Janna's was both short and uneventful as they didn't talk much since the only real topic anyone wanted to talk about today is the recent void attacks. For two people who, at least publically, been in a few of them, it wasn't something they wanted to talk about. Lux of course had actually been part of every attack but it still wasn't something she wanted to talk about.

          "So picked anything up recently?" Garen suddenly, jolting Lux out of her thoughts.

          "What?" Lux asked, caught off guard. 

          "Sorry should be a bit more specific. Picked up any new games lately?" Garen clarified. 

          "Not really. There hasn't been anything for a while. The next thing I'm looking forward too is next month. There just isn't a lot out right now." Lux replied, her voice a bit down. 

          "Well you would know better. Anyway I hope that you do enjoy your weekend. I'm sure it will be nice for mom and dad to get us out of their hair for a few days." Garen said. 

          "I'm sure." Lux unbuckled as Garen pulled to the side so she could get out. "See you." Garen just nodded in reply as Lux headed up the walk to Janna's house. She opened the door before Lux could even ring the bell.

          "Welcome. Hopefully Poppy won't be too long but you never know. Dorcha and Solas have already arrived." Janna said, pointing to the two of them. 

          "Good I was looking for them." Lux said as she entered to see the two poros laying down, clearly having picked up more than a few snacks from the park. Zephyr picked up his head and just rolled his eyes at the two. "What did I tell you two about handouts and a limit?"

          "We can't help that we are so cute." Solas said. Lux and Janna couldn't take that one and burst out laughing, a laugh from behind them made them turn to see Poppy had just arrived and caught the tail end of it. "We just get things handed to us."

          "If any of them knew you two were pets, I'm sure that would change." Lux said, still thinking about the collars. 

          "I'm sure, but so much good food." Dorcha said. Lux, still laughing, put her head in her hands as Janna moved to help Poppy with her bag.

          "So my parents said we could use the living room if we wanted, but I figured we'd sleep in my room." Janna said. 

          "Sounds good." Poppy quickly made herself comfortable on a chair, while Lux put her bag down near the couch. Janna had already made a few snacks, and the three of them decided to just waste time watching movies, until Dorcha and Solas recovered enough for them to actually talk about what they needed to. Which might be the next night as two movies failed to get them out of the food comas they were in.

          "Oh come on you two." Lux finally burst out, but even with Zephyr pecking at them both with his paws, they didn't wake up.

          "We could always go while we wait for them to come around." Janna said as she just gave up.

          "Good idea. I'm ready." Poppy hopped down, and after grabbing her pendant and putting it around her neck, headed over to the door. Janna followed while Lux grabbed her locket and joined them a minute later. Zephyr decided that it would be more enjoyable to sleep rather than go where they were so he just curled up on the couch which Lux just vacated and settled down. The three left and after Janna made sure the door was locked, they headed to the local Alley.

          Since it was the end of the week, it was rather crowded, but there were still lanes open. While the three of them hadn't really been bowling in a while, it was still a nice thing they enjoyed enough to do together. After getting their shoes and paying the fee for unlimited, they grabbed the balls they would use and decided to spend the night at least trying to pretend they were normal. As hard as that might be.

          After two games, Poppy was clearly hiding some ability as she was beating Lux and Janna hands down. It was when Lux decided to sit out a game that she noticed a large crowd near one of the lanes. Deciding to take a look, she turned to see Poppy and Janna still going at it. Walking over, Lux noticed a guy there who was just throwing strike after strike. Lux carefully listened to those around him.

          "He's been doing this for a few days now." One of the women said.

          "Is he pro?" A guy asked.

          "How does he keep doing it?" Yet another asked. Lux watched carefully as he threw yet another strike. He turned to acknowledge the crowd that had gathered with just a simple wave. Clearly he didn't care and was just more interested in the game. Lux smiled as she went back where Poppy and Janna had gotten into an argument about a pin. Lux rolled her eyes and put her hands on their shoulders.

          "Oh stop arguing and take a break it's one pin. Just give it to her." Janna looked a bit beat, but knew Lux was right.

          "Fine. What about that guy?" Janna asked turning to see what Lux was looking at. 

          "He's either a secret pro, or he's just really good." Lux replied. Janna decided to take a look while Poppy decided to grab something to eat. Once they both returned, the three did one more game before leaving. Lux took one last look as the guy as he continued to throw strikes before they left.

          Once they arrived back at Janna's place, Dorcha and Solas had recovered enough to talk about what they needed to. "So recovered enough?" Lux said as they entered the door.

          "Yes. Now can we talk or are you all tired?" Dorcha asked.

          "Just sore." Janna said as she closed the door.

          "Ok then. Now we know Rek'Sai will find another target soon and hopefully we can identify then before they go crazy. Obviously we can't be everywhere at once, but hopefully we can identify these individuals before they turn into monsters again."

          "Another thing from Vel'Koz is that these enemies will take on some kind of persona of the thing the person they grew from was passionate about. Hence the paperwork missiles from the last fight. We have to be careful as if they are passionate about something heavy"

          "We could end up getting squished by something?" Janna said trying to break the tension.

          "Yes. Hopefully we can avoid that but who knows. Anyway were there any other questions?"

          "Is there any progress on the front of finding our other two team members? I like a good fight, but still it would be nice to have some help."

          Dorcha just sighed. "Sorry Poppy there isn't. Something seems to be either suppressing their magics, or they are just not showing up. I wish I had better news on that front. I'm sorry."

          "Oh well. More things for me to hit then." Poppy didn't look remotely unhappy.

          "You sound like Vi you know that right?" Lux said. That got another round of laughter from everyone present. Poppy just laughed it off, rolling off the chair in the process. It took a few minutes for everyone to calm down enough to continue talking.

          "Well at least I take inspiration from someone." Poppy finally managed to say after catching her breath. "That was a good comeback. Anyway, I'm more than happy to do my job which is hitting things, taking names, and kicking some butt. Now I think we should go to sleep because it is late, and I can tell Janna is still sore from the bowling."

          "Yeah for the best." Lux said, looking to their teammate. And with that the three of them went up to bed. Dorcha and Solas curled up at the foot of Lux's sleeping bag while Zephyr curled up in his usual spot on Janna's bed. The six of them all fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

 

          Rek'Sai was patrolling the part of the city that she hadn't patrolled the night before, and she sensed something. Something powerful. Following her instincts, she made her way to the house. Reaching it, her excitement almost vanished. She carefully used her senses to probe looking for the target and found things she didn't like. Not only was the target on the second floor, he was sharing his bed. Suppressing her rage, Rek'Sia focused instead on concentrating because this shot was going to be difficult and dangerous.

          While she could remain intangible while burrowed, her seekers couldn't for longer than a few seconds. Rek'Sai didn't know if she could push it much further than that. The last thing she wanted was to either miss, or cause the seeker to get lodged somewhere. The problems were that not only were her options limited but her time was also running out. Knowing being out of her nest during the day was a major risk for many reasons. Shaking her head, Rek'Sai cleared her thoughts and focused. Reburrowing, she moved into position. She carefully lined up her shot and then had to wait for just the right moment.

          It was good that she didn't have to wait long. The target turned in his sleep and she fired. The seeker remained intangible just long enough to attach. Rek'Sai quickly sped out of there and after finding a secluded location, she unburrowed and took a few minutes to recover. Once she had, she reburrowed and headed back to her nest, waiting for the seeker to signal her.

* * *

 

          The morning came and with it a sense of dread. Lux was the first to wake up and she felt something and it didn't take her long to put the pieces together. Rek'Sai had found her target. Deciding to not wake the others just yet, Lux carefully put her head back down and decided to try and get a little more sleep for the fight that while always inevitable, now was much closer than she thought it would be. But her tiredness overtook her sense of foreboding, and Lux fell back into her uneasy sleep.

          In what seemed like just a few minutes, Lux woke up again, and noticing that Poppy was also awake, Lux turned and she just nodded. A small noise caused them both to turn to Janna and all three new without saying that a fight was soon. Lux poked Dorcha and Solas awake, while Janna got Zephyr up. The three of them, unlike their companions, were slow to wake.

          "Let me guess, she found something." Solas finally said as he shook himself awake.

          "Yes. I can't tell where, but it is obvious." Lux said. 

          "Well then, I guess we have some hunting to do." Solas turned to see Dorcha just giving him a look, while Zephyr was giving him the same one. "Right after breakfast." That got everyone laughing as they made their way downstairs. Janna grabbed Zephyr's favorite breakfast while Lux pulled something out of her bag for Dorcha and Solas. With the three of them eating, Lux turned to the others and without saying anything, they all agreed to just have something simple, which in this case, was just cereal.

          After breakfast, Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr headed out to search the city, while Lux, Janna, and Poppy also made plans to search, but do so in a way that they wouldn't get noticed. It was much harder for them to get around and search areas without being noticed so their plan for the day was to walk around the city and make it look normal, which meant shopping. The three of them quickly changed and after grabbing their bags, the smaller ones they could shop with, headed out.

          To say they were finding a needle in a haystack was a bit of an understatement. Unlike the last one, Rek'Sai was more careful with her choice this time. Picking someone who wasn't, or didn't, go around very much. While they could all sense the presence of a seeker, trying to find it was a bit difficult. Normally they could at least get a general idea of where it might be but the seeker was elusive. Everywhere that they went all day was warm and they couldn't even tell if they were at least going in the right direction.

          Growing frustrated, the three Guardians decided to head to the Library to see if Vel'Koz had any ideas on how to track it. But first, they would stop for lunch. While they were eating, Zephyr, who always seemed to know when Janna was eating, showed up looking for a few handouts. Janna just giggled a bit and slipped him a bit to keep him happy. Just as they were finishing, they all suddenly felt a wave of cold nearby. It was either the seeker or someone who had been in extremely close contact to it. Zephyr immediately jumped to find out who it was while Janna, Poppy, and Lux split up to cover more ground.

          After 10 minutes of search, Poppy and Lux's phones buzzed with a message from Janna who said that Zephyr had found who it was and he'd keep an eye on them. Breathing a sigh of relief, they all met back up and headed to the Library. Making their way through one of the secret entrances, they found themselves in the tower with Vel'Koz arriving just a few seconds later.

          "Good to see you three again. I hope you have had more luck." Vel'Koz said as he came to a halt in front of them. 

          "Zephyr either found someone who had been in extremely close contact with it, or the person it latched onto directly. He's following them as they left in a hurry from where we were eating lunch." Janna said. 

          "That's good. Hopefully we can find whoever this is before they cause a lot of damage. Rek'Sai is usually good at picking targets. What happened previously I think was nothing more or less than a test run. She won't make the same mistake twice." Vel'Koz said.

          "Do you have any way of tracking these seekers?" Lux asked. 

          "Unfortunately no. Until they awaken, so to speak, they are almost invisible. You will have a better time trying to find out who they are than I can. I wish I could make this easier, but…" Vel'Koz fell silent as he put a tentacle to his eye and started float pacing back and forth. Lux, Janna, and Poppy stayed silent while he was clearly in though. Finally stopping, he turned back to the three. "There might be a way. There is one thing void energy does as I'm sure you've noticed."

          "It is cold?" Poppy asked.

          "Well it makes anything that it touches cold but yes. To you, it is cold, but to us it is comforting, which as I'm sure you've noticed, is why the library is usually colder than the rest of the city. Why can't winter arrive quickly? But back on point. I could use a network of thermometers throughout the city to track isolated pockets of cold. It is much more noticeable to the three of you than anyone else. What others feel is like a chill down their spines. You three actually feel cold. This will be an issue once winter comes, I think, but then I haven't tested that yet." As Vel'Koz finished, he looked up to see odd looks from the team.

          "What? I'd rather be honest. Back to the point though. You need to find this individual before they cause more damage. With Zephyr following them hopefully this person will lead him to the individual in question." Just as Vel'Koz finished talking, Solas came down the slide.

          "We found them. Remember that bowling alley you all went to last night? Well there is something coming from there. Man I need to rest. Dorcha and Zephyr are there now. Talk to them." Solas quickly darted for some water as the Guardians headed out. Vel'Koz nodded as they left and he grabbed Solas to help him. Nasus watched as the Guardians raced out and knew that there would be trouble this night.

          It took them almost a hour to get to the alley, and seeing Dorcha sitting in a tree, they moved over to her. She hopped down to fill them in. "Whoever it is, they are inside and the crowd inside is growing. I'm not sure what is happening but Zephyr went inside to get a better view. Hopefully you can still get inside and I'd do so soon."

          "Right. Stay out here in case something shows up."Lux told her. 

          "Ok." Dorcha hopped out of Lux's hands and back into the tree. Meanwhile Lux, Janna, and Poppy made their way back inside. One thing they all noticed was the large crowd around one lane, while many of them were still open. Approaching the counter, it seemed like the manager was annoyed.

          "You here to watch or play?" He asked.

          "Play actually. What's going on?" The manger's mood seemed to change when Lux said play.

          "Good. Many of these people are just watching that guy. He has been bowling all day. Throwing mostly perfect or perfect games. The crowd is at least buying food and drinks but no one seems to be bowling. There are a few, but nothing seems to bother this guy. I'd kick him out but it's been business. But if he keeps it up, especially tonight, I will kick them all out or force them to pay. So what are your sizes?"

          The three gave over their shoe sizes and they picked a lane. Janna made up the excuse to get a ball while taking a look at the guy at the center of attention. Janna couldn't really see very well, but it looked like the guy from last night. On her way back, she confirmed it. He was also the likely source of their seeker. Janna checked her watch and saw that the manager charged them for the unlimited bowling that starts in 15 minutes.

          Returning to Poppy and Lux, Janna put the ball down and turned to them. "I'm almost certain that it's the guy from last night. The crowd is surrounding him and I'm sure that manger is going to kick him out. The amount of void energy coming from him is enormous."

          "Seems right. We'll just have to see what happens. Look." Poppy nodded to the manger who was going over to the crowd. Lux moved her hand to her locket, while Poppy and Janna grabbed their pendants.

          "OK all of you. Shows over. You either pay or leave. Same for you." He pointed to the bowler causing the show. He turned to the manager.

          "So you want more. I've given you all this business and you still want more." The bowler almost yelled. 

          "Look buddy I don't care. You either pay or leave." The void energy pulsing from the man was overwhelming but somehow it lessened.

          "Fine then. Everyone, the show will continue, but the man needs his dues. So you want to continue to watch pay up." As they handed over their money, Lux noticed that everyone seemed to be in a trace or were just too focused to do anything about it. Once everyone had paid, the manager went back to the counter, but Lux continued to watch him as picked up a phone. Lux knew that the police would be here quickly. As Janna came back from picking up a 7 spare, Lux grabbed and pulled her into a seat.

          "What's going on? You could have just asked." Janna said she rubbed her arm.

          "I definitely think that is the guy. He seemed to have put everyone in a trance when they handed their money over. And I'm almost certain he just called the police. I hope we can avoid a fight here, but it might be impossible. Keep a eye out. Ouch!" Lux exclaimed as she finished. Janna gave her a pinch on the arm.

          "Payback. Your turn." Lux rubbed her arm while Poppy snickered. Lux grabbed the ball and showed Janna up with a strike. Sticking her tongue out she returned to her seat where Poppy was now struggling to keep from laughing. Janna just shot Lux a nasty look before both of them started snickering.

          The next hour passed by relatively slowly as more people showed up, more people just watched. Lux was now extremely nervous especially after Zephyr somehow managed to sneak in and tell them that everyone there is like in a trance. It was then Poppy tapped Lux and pointed to the door. Walking in was Vi, her father, and two other police officers. Lux quickly hid her face not wanting another incident, but looked back. Without her hextech gauntlets, Vi's arms looked extremely small, but with the backpack she wore, told all three of them they weren't far away.

          They all talked with the manager a bit before taking up two lanes on the far side from them. Lux breathed a sigh of relief as he didn't appear to notice her, but he also could have been keeping with his undercover status. If he was, he would text in a few minutes, and Lux made an effort to not look at her phone. Which was difficult right now. Seeing Janna come back, Lux went up again only to throw another strike in her frustration.

          The scene however further down was starting to get out of control. The guy at the center of it all was getting the crowd spirited and it was to the point of almost being out of control. Janna, looking around, saw where this was going, and after turning to Lux and Poppy, they all quickly packed up and moved towards the back and out of sight. Before they could get there however, a loud noise caused them to stop and turn. Apparently the guy had thrown a ball into the lane with such force, that it dented the wood. Now the manager was clearly done.

          He walked over the to the crowd while Vi pulled her hextech gauntlets out of her pack and put them on. "Ok buddy that's enough. Get out. You are disturbing my place of business and disturbing my customers."

          "But I can't leave. The party has only just begun." The seeker was clearly ready for a fight. 

          "No you are leaving. Commander Vi, Deputy Commander and as a police officer I hereby order you to vacate this premises. Immediately!" Vi flared her gauntlets for good measure while the rest of the officers moved to surround the guy.

          "Oh the police. I'm so scared. But I guess the time is now then." With that Lux, Janna, and Poppy dove out of sight. Lux pulled her locket while the other two pulled their pendants.

          "Star Guardian Power Up." The three of them, transformed, ran back out to the main area. The sight that greeted them was rather disturbing. The man, and most of the crowd was on the ground. The rest, along with other patrons were scrambling for the exits. The monster that was standing over the man was hideous. It was all black, save for some green lines on its torso. One arm looked like a cannon while the other looked like the bottom end of a pin. His legs were extremely thick and he was just smiling.

          "Seems like you are outclassed officers. Now how about you just give me your energy and we call it even? Sound like a deal?" He reached out with his pin arm, which exploded fingers and he reached for one of the officers. Lux threw a shield and binding, preventing the officer from being harmed while rooting the monster.

          "Attacking people while they are trying to enjoy themselves just gets me angry, and you don't want me angry." Poppy circled around to come up behind the monster while it was focused on Lux. "We are the Star Guardians. Sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you."

          "Pretty speech guardian. Have anything else to back it up with?" Lux noticed Vi and her father had clearly moved out of the way while Poppy was spinning her hammer.

          "Well not me, but…"

          "I do." Poppy brought the hammer down, which sent the monster through the ceiling and into a nearby empty lot. Lux, Janna, and Poppy sprinted out there to meet it while Vi was clearly on the radio. Outside, the monster was clearly furious at having been denied its rewards.

          "You will pay for that little one." It charged at Poppy who braced herself only to have the monster hit back a few seconds later by another hammer. Debonair had jumped between them and clearly let some frustration go in that swing.

          "Frustrated?" Janna asked.

          "Just something not relevant to this. A friend keeps kicking my butt at video games." A look shot across Lux's face but for now dismissed it. The four of them took positions around the monster, who now clearly didn't like the odds.

          "How is four on one fair? Well I guess I'll have to narrow the odds." He pulled his cannon arm, aimed it at Janna and fired a bowling ball. Janna barely managed to dodge it, and it hit the wall behind her. Janna turned to see it then disintegrate the wall in a pool of acid. The look on Janna's face was one of both impressed and disgust. Janna pulled her staff and with Zephyr hovering behind her, they all went after the monster, who was quite content to throw more acid balls their way. Lux and Janna moved into more of a support role with barriers and shields while Poppy and Debonair did most of the damage, from melee and range respectively. And a few hammer blows from Debonair as well.

          Lux was just casting a barrier over them, when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone approaching the area they were fighting in. It was Garen. Lux looked at him again before turning back to root the monster so Poppy could score a massive hit. When Lux turned back, he was gone. Breathing another sigh of relief, something else came over her mind. Where was Vi? She wasn't one to sit out of a fight. Lux turned her head to Janna, and gave a quick punch and she got it. Janna floated inside to check.

          Once she got inside, Janna's anger took over when she saw Rek'Sai tossing orbs through a portal. Zephyr leaped at Rek'Sai while Janna casted a perfect crafted tornado that knocked the burrower up and shattered the remaining orbs while avoiding collateral damage. It was then Vi decided to make her presence known as she charged in and landed one, then both fists onto Rek'Sai who then flew through the hole in the wall that several acid bowling balls created. Vi charged after while Janna followed after briefly looking around to see Lux's father come back in to help try and get people outside and away from the evolving battle.

          Poppy for her part barely managed to dodge Rek'Sai as she came flying through the hole, and Debonair also barely managed to get out of the way as Rek'Sai collided with the monster and almost him. With them cornered, Lux threw a binding that rooted them in place while Poppy knocked them both with her hammer, and Debonair fired an energy blast. That got both of them roaring in rage, but when they untangled themselves, they found themselves outnumbered almost 3 to 1.

          Rek'Sai looked around and knew that her time in this battle was done, but it wasn't like she could get away easily. Looking from one target to another, it was only a matter of time before the Guardians got their breath back and attacked again. And that moment was sooner than she expected as Poppy, Debonair, and Vi charged at them while Janna and Lux moved in behind them. All of them connected which sent both of the voidlings through a fence and into a courtyard.

          Rek'Sai used the opportunity to try and escape but a binding from Lux stopped her from burrowing and getting away. Rek'Sai roared again and charged towards Lux before she realized her mistake. A large hammer came and smashed her full in the face, knocking her back into a tree. The monster for its part also wasn't going down without a fight, but being surrounded by Debonair, Vi, and Janna, all of whom were taking shots at it didn't make it easy to get in a shot, let alone make one land. One particular hard hit from Debonair sent it into the side of a building. Shaking itself of, the monster charged forward and fired at the team attacking it, only to miss every shot because of how disorientated it was from the repeated blows.

          Lux threw yet another binding at Rek'Sai to prevent her from burrowing, and by now she was beyond infuriated. With the fight lost, it was only a matter of time until she lost everything. Better to run while she still could. Dodging yet another attack from Poppy, Rek'Sai leaped clear, dodged a singularity from Lux, then ripped open a portal, and disappeared through it.

          "Well, I guess we know that when the tough gets going, they will always run. Make this job a bit easier." Poppy said.

          "I guess so. Look out!" Lux pushed Poppy back as one of the shots from the monster flew right at them. Probably another misfire but it would have done damage if it hit. Lux and Poppy ran over to rejoin the other fight just as Vi landed a sharp uppercut to its jaw, sending it into the air. Lux seeing her opportunity, threw a binding, while Debonair, Poppy, and Janna all moved out of the way. Vi, seeing that, also moved, or rather dived. Lux charged her powers, and after focusing them, threw her baton out in front of her. "Final Spark!" The beam shot from her hands, through her baton, and vaporized the monster.

          "They just doesn't know when to stop do they?" Vi asked as she picked herself up off the ground.

          "No they don't. You would think that a series of defeats would tell them that, but I guess not. Points for persistence though." Lux replied.

"Well persistence to you means more paperwork for me. But even I'm going to have a hard time explaining this. Either way, you four get out of here before, oh boy." Vi turned to see a swarm of police cars approaching, and noticing the Chief's car, she knew this wouldn't be good. Lux turned to the other three and they all just nodded. As Vi approached Caitlyn, Lux wasn't far behind. "Hey boss. So um I can explain."

          "Was anyone hurt apart from you or them?" Caitlyn asked, pointing to the Guardians and Debonair.

          "Not that I could tell. I think we managed to prevent that. Once we got that giant burrowing thing out here, most of the damage was collateral."

          "Collateral property damage I can deal with. Personal collateral damage is another matter. If you are the only one hurt, then go see the medics while I try and figure this out. As for you 4. Thank you. I just wish they wouldn't cause so much damage in the process. Or you all."

          "Well if they would just stand still, it would make the process easier." Poppy said with a grin. That actually did get Caitlyn to smile.

          "But then they never stand still. Ok get out of here while I clean this up." Caitlyn was holding back her laughter. 

          "Just a minute." Janna moved over to Vi and after grabbing her staff, made it rain with her monsoon.

          "Thanks. Now to the paperwork." Vi said dejectedly as she followed her boss. Lux, Janna, Poppy, and Debonair made a hasty retreat and then parted. Debonair going to wherever he normally went, while the others went back to Janna's place. Powering down in a park close by, they made their way back inside to still find it empty. As they all settled down and Janna threw on a movie, Lux grabbed her phone and saw two messages from Garen.

          'Going to the bowling alley tonight. You girls going as well?' Lux just rolled her eyes but the second was more interesting.

          'At the alley. Under attack. Don't come. Can't find Jayce. Stay AWAY!' That got Lux thinking back to what Debonair said earlier and she asked herself if Jayce was perhaps Debonair but she had little proof for the moment and asking pointed questions to either Garen or Jayce would possibly giver herself away in the process. Putting the matter in the back of her mind for now, Lux returned to watching the movie while Poppy was nodding off, and Janna was more focused on eating the popcorn she had than watching it. Occasionally popping one over to Zephyr who was next to her on the couch.

          Dorcha and Solas appeared about 10 minutes after they got back to Janna's place and seeing the Guardians weren't interested in talking, just hopped up to Lux and she settled in for the movie while absentmindedly petting them both.

          'Tomorrow is another day, and probably another fight. But we can't give up. Nor will we.'


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With her last defeat, Rek'Sai clearly miscalculated. Will she take a more cautious, or more direct approach this time?

          Rek'Sai paced around and around her nest. Twice she had attacked, and twice it has been defeated. While she had managed to gather energy, it was just barely enough to keep Malzahar satisfied. Her method was effective, but it also came with risks. Her sample size was small, but the amount of energy she drew was massive. It would only be a matter of time before it worked effectively, but if she kept running into those Guardians, then it was all for nothing.

          "Still pacing burrower?" Rek'Sai stopped and turned to see Kha'Zix standing there.

          "Recovered I see?" She replied with a tone of loathing.

          "Yes. However, I have been placed on another task. My advice to you Rek'Sai is to never underestimate those Guardians. Even when it was just the one, it was enough. You have underestimated them twice. Don't do so a third time." And with that, he ripped open a void portal and vanished back to the moon.

          Rek'Sai threw a rock at where Kha'Zix had been but as she was about to throw something bigger when she thought about it. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She had underestimated the Guardians twice, and wouldn't do so a third time. Rek'Sai thought for a while before she came up with a new plan. This time, it would be the Guardians running for their lives, getting smacked into buildings, and throw across parking lots. Rek'Sai laughed for a while at the plan before settling down and getting some sleep for the night. She would have to do some hunting.

* * *

 

          Spending hours at school sometimes was nothing short of torture. Lux was beginning to understand why time and time again people just started not caring. With being a Star Guardian, her sleep schedule was so chaotic that she sometimes couldn't sleep at night because of a dream or nightmare that spawned from one of their fights. While she had been extremely careful to not let it show up in her grades, with her most recent test, it did. She was going to struggle to find a way to explain a D to her parents, but then she might be able to get away with it since it was just a random occurrence. Hopefully.

          Janna on the other hand, was just struggling with the sleeping. Her classes were balanced enough to allow her to keep up with homework, but at the same time her sleep was suffering to the point where she was nodding off in class. It wasn't an easy thing to explain but if they could just have a weekend without an attack, it would help. Janna thought that and immediately regretted it since there would probably be one this weekend then. Putting her head down on her desk, she knew this would be a long weekend, one way or the other.

          Poppy meanwhile was having an easy time. Being still relatively new, she was able to find a balance between the two but even she could feel the chaos starting to slip in. Poppy knew that Lux and Janna had it worse, especially Lux, but she also knew that one weekend without a major attack would be good for everyone, especially with the light homework load that everyone was getting lately. At least the attacks had done one thing, give people a break as many were having trouble sleeping.

          As everyone went home for what they hoped would be a relaxing weekend, Lux walked home with Amy.

          "I don't know how I'm going to explain this." Lux sighed as she looked at the test again. 

          "Oh come on girl. How often do you get grades like this? It's not like you aren't stressed out. Perhaps being near all of those attacks isn't sitting with you well." Amy pointed out, trying to comfort her friend. 

          "You can say that again. Maybe my parents will be generous. But either way, I don't want to…huh?" Lux pulled out her phone and saw it was her mother. "Here we go."

          "I'll be right here." Amy said as Lux answered.

          "Hello mom."

          "Lux I just got a very interesting message from Ms. Teller. You got a D?"

          "Yes…" Lux braced herself for the inevitable fallout.

          "Honey are you having problems sleeping? Or anything else?"

          'Well let's see, I've been involved in every attack. I'm fighting crazy monsters who only want to destroy us. I work with others my age to stop all of this.' Lux thought to herself but saying that was a bad idea.

          "I guess I'm having some issues sleeping and concentrating." Lux eventually said. 

          "Honey if you are having problems let us know. Do you need to talk to someone?"

          "Mom no! I just need a weekend of relaxing."

          "Ok then. I'll be here if you need to talk." And with that, Lux's mother hung up.

          "Well that didn't go as expected." Lux said as she put her phone away. "She's more concerned than angry."

          "Told you it would be ok. Now how about a trip to the mall. We haven't been there together lately." Amy said with confidence. 

          "Let's go."Lux smiled at perhaps one weekend where she would be able to enjoy herself. And spending an afternoon at the mall was a great way to start it.

          Janna likewise headed for the mall to start her weekend. When she got there, Janna saw Lux and Amy, and decided to not interfere with their day. Janna just decided to enjoy the time she could. Another battle was inevitable but for now, peace and the ability to not overthink or think in general was rewarding. Janna just threw her head back and decided to just let her feet lead her.

          Poppy decided to spend some time at the tower just practicing and getting ready for the next fight. It wasn't until she noticed that both Lux and Janna weren't going to be there did she realize that they could probably use some time. She reminded herself that they were doing this a lot longer than she was, and it seemed like the pressure was starting to get to them. As Poppy transformed and began moving around to perfect her hitting style.

          "Working out?" Came a voice. Poppy used her momentum to turn and see Vel'Koz hovering there.

          "Yeah. I think Lux and Janna need a weekend off where they don't have to worry about anything. It seems like the pressure is getting to them." Poppy said, leaning on her hammer. 

          "I would agree. I wish we could get a weekend off as well but Malzahar won't give up." Vel'Koz said.

          "Yeah what's his deal. He's clearly not like the rest of them?" Poppy asked.

          "Lux and Janna know but I should tell you as well. Malzahar was a powerful mage here on Runeterra. The void identified two powerful mages here one of them was Malzahar, the other was called Kassadin. The void tempted them with power and knowledge respectively. We haven't seen Kassadin since that day so that means the void utterly consumed him, or he has been resisting it all this time. Malzahar on the other hand was corrupted by it and into the form you saw a few weeks ago. He seems to have used his power to rise to leader somehow.

          "Anyway, together they built a portal, expecting to be rewarded, but they were both pulled inside, and for the second time, the void swept across Runeterra. They almost destroyed the planet. The Guardians managed to stop them but it cost them everything." Vel'Koz finished his story and looked up. 

          "Wait wasn't that Janna's team?" Poppy interrupted.

          "Yes. But I don't talk about it, and neither does she. Lux, Nasus, and myself know she's keeping some kind of secret but we aren't going to pry for now. It still haunts her. And the fact she isn't a day older when she reentered this whole mess is also curious. We will just have to be patient." Vel'Koz said, respecting Janna's privacy.

          "Something I'm not good at. Well that is an interesting story. Hopefully we can figure out what happened to Kassadin." Poppy said. 

          "Indeed. He was a good friend. I hope…" Vel'Koz suddenly paused as his watch beeped. "Excuse me Poppy. I need to take this."

          "Of course." Poppy went back to training while Vel'Koz, if he had legs, almost ran to his office. Once inside he turned on the computer, then his email, and clicked the link he was waiting for.

          "How are you two. Everything ok?" Vel'Koz asked.

          "Oh fine. Ez just decided to try something stupid and got himself in a bit of a situation." Renekton taunted. 

          "And you refused to cut the tree down." Ezreal responded with a note of annoyance in his voice.

          "It may have involved a tree. The point is we did get a solid lead." Renekton responded, ignoring his partner.

          "Next time YOU are climbing the tree." Ezreal shot back.

          "But you are so good at it." Renekton was trying to keep from laughing. 

          "You are so annoying. You know that right." Ezreal said. It wasn't a question but a statement that got Renekton to roll his eyes.

          "My brother tells me all the time." Renekton was now barely containing his laughter. 

          "Ok you two enough. Good to know you are the track. Do you need anything from this end?" Vel'Koz asked.

          "Yes actually. You know that book on legends on Mount Targon, we need it." Ezreal said

          "Which one? The general one or the bound one?" Vel'Koz asked. 

          "The bound one. It has translations we need." Ezreal said. 

          "It's on its way. Just watch out. They don't take kindly to strangers." Vel'Koz warned.

          "Oh Pantheon is here and has guaranteed us safe passage for the moment. Hopefully they will respect that." Ezreal responded.

          "Don't count on it. I don't trust them." Renekton replied.

          "Just keep each other safe please. Good luck." Vel'Koz said as he ended the call. He floated out of his office and into a private section of the library where extremely rare, valuable, or dangerous articles were kept. Finding the book he wanted, he quickly called Nasus. "Be sure this gets to Ezreal and your Brother."

          "I'll see to it." Nasus carefully took the thick leather bound book out and headed to a trusted messenger. Once he left, Vel'Koz checked in on Poppy one more time before heading on his usual rounds of the Library. He then proceeded into the Museum where he paused in the now extremely popular Star Guardian exhibit. He noticed the expansion for Lux, Janna (again), and Poppy was going well. There was also a note for Debonair who kept showing up. Vel'Koz kept an eye out for a second longer and noted that the blue haired girl was back again. Making a note to keep an eye on her he floated back to the Library where he just decided to float around until close.

* * *

 

          For Lux and Janna, who actually did just run into each other despite Janna's efforts to avoid Lux so she could enjoy her time with Amy, the day went better than expected. Seeing Janna alone caused Amy to ask her to join them and the three just spent the day, and their allowance, all over the place. Once they both got home, they put away their purchases, which most of them were things that could have done without, but they were clearly compensating for the stress they were under.

          The stress was showing to their parents, Vel'Koz, and Nasus, but unfortunately the void didn't rest and kept the pressure up. Hopefully Rek'Sai would give them some time, but that was unlikely. Still Vel'Koz didn't sense a presence meaning Rek'Sai hadn't found a target or targets yet. Maybe they would get a good night of sleep.

Finally done putting stuff away, and eating dinner, Lux turned to her computer, and after grabbing her headset, decided to spend the time playing games since she not only needed to destress, but as she sat down, a wave of tiredness overtook her and she went to bed instead, hopefully looking to catch up on sleep.

          Janna also went through a similar process and also quickly feel asleep after eating dinner with her parents. The only one who stayed up was Poppy but even then not by much. Her training earlier made her tired and while she also fell asleep earlier than she normally would, it was still at least closer to a normal time.

* * *

 

          During the night Rek'Sai hunted and searched for her targets. She was determined to find the targets she needed, but finding two individuals with the right energy level was going to be hard, but she nevertheless persisted. After searching the city, she had a few potential targets, but with dawn rapidly approaching, she needed to retreat and search again in the morning. 'Looks like you get a free day guardians, don't waste it.'

          Lux, Janna, and Poppy all woke up the following day around midday feeling better, mainly because all of them slept more than 12 hours. It wasn't enough to completely eliminate their sleep debts, but it was enough to give them renewed energy going into the day. Without even speaking to each other, they all hopped on the same game, to waste the day away, destress, and relax. With only the occasional interruption from their families.

          Eventually they all were dropped into a game together, and they all jumped into a chat room with their other 4 teammates. Two of them were well known streamers who lived in the city and were brother and sister.

          "Ok everyone here? Good. Now pick your best and we will have to play around it." As the 7 of them carefully chose their characters, their team balanced out. The laning phase would be difficult for some, but overall they had a good team.

          "Ok everyone, we are streaming as normal, so we are excluding your voices. Hopefully we can pull off a win."

          "Let's do it." Lux let slip, but that got everyone laughing. The game went on for an hour before they managed to break open their opponent's base and destroy their nexus. That was the start of a series of matches that evening that lead to them winning 8 in a row. Before they all looked at their clocks. They all added friends, and except for the two streamers, they all signed off. Lux pulled up their stream to watch while she fell asleep but couldn't hope watching for longer than that as she wondered why these two weren't pros. The answer rushed to her head as she remembered they were still too young to compete officially. Lux finally fell asleep after they logged off and she closed her tablet.

* * *

 

          That night, Rek'Sai scouted out the targets she carefully selected the previous day and after going through the list, she found two that were going to be successful. Moving carefully into position, Rek'Sai also realized something about her plan, it wouldn't see fruition today. Getting angry at herself, she knew that an attack on a school, where these two would be the following day, would attract a lot of attention very quickly. Still it was either that, or wait, and she couldn't afford to wait another 5 days. Throwing caution to the winds, Rek'Sai tagged them both with the special seekers, she unburrowed, caught her energy back, then retreated to her cave to wait their awakening.

* * *

 

          The following day dawned, and without the presence of any seekers, or at least as far as the Guardians could tell. Rek'Sai had chosen seekers that would hopefully go undetected until the following day, but she couldn't be certain. Meanwhile, Lux, Janna, and Poppy were enjoying their weekend off. Since they did nothing the previous day, they all decided to at least get their homework done before their parents came down hard on them. It wasn't long however before they were all just back into their games and playing. Lux looked for the streamers from yesterday, and after pulling their channel up, she felt something as she was watching. And she knew that something wasn't good.

          Their behavior and attitude had changed, a lot. They were much more aggressive, and easily making their other teammates uncomfortable. Lux quickly noticed Janna was on and pulled her into a group chat.

          "Hey noticed those two from yesterday?"

          "The streamers? Yeah I've been trying to invite them to a game, but they aren't responding." Janna said.

          "Look at their stream." Lux responed.

          "Ok give me a sec." Lux could hear Janna clicking in the background while she got a notification that Poppy had jumped in. "Got it. Wow you're right. They are definitely making me uncomfortable."

          "What is?" Poppy said as she finally seemed to have turned her mic on.

          "Those two streamers from yesterday. They are acting very weird. Not their usual selves." Lux said.

          "Let me look." Poppy paused for a few seconds. "Yeah you are right. They are definitely not acting normal. And I'm getting a weird vibe off them. Anyone know where they live?"

          "Yeah. I do . Let's go." Janna said as she signed off, followed quickly by Lux and Poppy. Janna grabbed her phone and sent Lux and Poppy a meet up point nearby. Janna was the first there, and made herself inconspicuous in the park while she waited for Lux and Poppy. The latter arrived first with a small bag over her shoulder, making it look like she was out for a walk. Poppy waved and Janna beckoned her over as it made it look like they just ran into each other. Lux wasn't far behind and she was looking down at her phone to give the illusion she was also on a walk. Lux looked up at the right time and joined them.

          "Ok their house is around the corner. Follow me and keep your eyes open. I'm not sure what we will find when we get there." Janna said as they all stood up.

          "We'll be fine. Stop worrying. Whatever they are, I'm sure they can't hurt us." Poppy said confidently.

          "Yet." Poppy turned to Lux and opened her mouth to reply, but closed it as she quickly through about what she said, and then nodded. They rounded the corner and were immediately greeted by a wave of cold emanating from a house. As they got closer, Janna walked up the front walk.

          "I know them and I want to see if they are ok. Officially we were supposed to meet up today." Janna knocked on the door and a woman opened it a few seconds later.

          "Janna what are you doing here?"

          "Sorry to disturb you Mrs. Ulma but Iris, Jacob, and I were supposed to meet up today and I haven't heard from them. Is everything all right?

          "No Janna it isn't. They have been acting weird all day. They've stayed shut up in their rooms and have only come out to eat and use the bathroom. I'm not sure if they just need a day, but I'll be sure to tell them you stopped by." She closed the door and Janna could hear her walking up the stairs.

          "Zephyr" she said, unzipping the bag she brought with her, and out popped the white cat. He didn't need much telling to know what he had to do. Hopping from Janna's shoulder, he was in the tree faster than you could almost blink. Janna grabbed a small bag from hers and threw it up to him, which he managed to catch with his tail. Zephyr then managed to make himself comfortable and concealed.

          Satisfied, Janna walked back down the walk to the front where Lux and Poppy were still waiting. "Anything?" Lux asked.

          "Something is off. I can feel lit, even if it wasn't for the cold radiating from the house. I left Zephyr in the tree and he'll contact us if anything goes crazy. Seriously?" Janna pulled her phone and noticed a new message, from an unregistered number. Janna just turned to the tree and glared, before walking off. In the tree, Zephyr smiled and then returned to watching the brother as the sister's room was on the other side of the house.

          The three Guardians retreated and headed to the mall where they could talk without much risk of them being overheard. Once they got there, they proceeded to the food court where after getting something small, they found a secluded table.

          "It feels like the seekers were just planted last night doesn't it?" Lux asked.

          "Yeah it does. Which means they shouldn't grow today." Poppy said. "Hopefully we can prepare for tomorrow."

          "That's going to be a problem." Janna said matter of factly. Lux and Poppy turned to Janna before they both realized what tomorrow was. A school day. "So you won't be able to do anything about it but I can. I'll be there to watch them, and hopefully if they do go crazy, then I can hold them off until you arrive." Janna said that without too much confidence. Lux and Poppy both picked up on that, but didn't decide to press. They knew Janna's powers were more for controlling the fight rather than being a direct participant, but still it should hopefully be enough.

          When they all got back home, Lux pulled up their stream on her computer and decided to watch, but it almost quickly became unbearable. They were both so different than their usual selves. They were quick to criticize, give up, gloat, and generally be toxic towards anyone and everyone, even people in their stream. Lux knew that it was the seekers doing their job, but that still didn't make it any easier to watch. Eventually, she became so disgusted that she had to turn it off.

          Janna, like Lux, also pulled up the stream, and like Lux, quickly discovered the very same things. Janna shut the stream off sooner, but mainly on the account that she would need to get some sleep. Poppy also tuned in, but muted the entire thing, which she thought would stop her getting angry. It didn't. Knowing that a fight was likely tomorrow, Poppy shut her computer down and turned in.

* * *

 

          The following day saw the three get up and get the chills. Knowing that it wouldn't be long before the seekers awoke, Lux and Poppy took extra care packing their bags that morning, knowing a fight was inevitable. Janna was also careful packing, but took care to pack a few other items she might need in case an attack did happen. Lux asked Garen for a ride, while Poppy likewise asked her mother for a ride to school. Janna decided to walk to be alone with her thoughts, at least until Zephyr dropped in front of her.

          "Sleep well?" He asked as he hopped onto Janna's shoulder where he got a few scratches and pets while whispering in her ear.

          "No. Was that really a question?" Janna said sarcastically. 

          "Sorry. You were right. I don't know what time you turned off last night, but as the night went on, they got worse and worse. It was to the point, where if I wouldn't have blown my cover, I would have attacked. It was just…bad." Zephyr searched a bit for that last word.

          "I'm sure it was. But I'm going to need your help today. Keep an eye on them as I only have one of them in just one class. If those seekers awake, then you are going to have to get Lux and Poppy somehow because I won't be able to hold them off for long by myself."

          "I hear you. Good luck." And with that, Zephyr hopped off and made his way to a secluded spot for the moment until he could make his way closer to the school. Janna walked into the front door and headed for her first class.

          Meanwhile, Poppy and Lux were tossing ideas back and forth about how to get out of school when the time came, but there weren't a lot of options. It would be standard procedure to lock down the school to try and keep students safe, but they had heard that policy had been changed, but no one knew to what. Lux put her head on her desk in an attempt to come up with some idea but was clueless. Poppy likewise didn't have many ideas, apart from just run off, but that would get them both in a lot of trouble, very quickly.

          Lux pulled her head up and looked out the window. She could see Solas sitting in a tree keeping an eye on her, and every now and then turning to look at Dorcha who was positioned on the roof, looking for signs of trouble. For all the times that she had overlooked them, Lux was glad she had them. Not only for advice, but because they were great friends, and she had met a few new ones along the way. 'Focus on the task at hand. Get an idea together.' Lux tried to write down a few new ways, but she stopped because she couldn't think of anything. Groaning, she eagerly awaited for the lunch bell.

          Janna for her part, was trying to keep an eye on both of them, but it was difficult since their schedules were very different, but following the aura of toxicity wasn't difficult. Janna kept making excuses to be late to class or go to the bathroom so she could keep an eye on them but she as discovering very quickly that it wasn't going to work. She knew that Zephyr could more easily move around and keep an eye but that still didn't stop her from worrying.

          Lunch was a relief to all three of them as they managed to get some well deserved rest from their day because if something started now, it was easy to group up, but as lunch came to a close, they all realized that it wasn't going to happen. Lux and Poppy went back inside with no new idea on how to get out of class. Janna meanwhile, knew that her situation was growing worse by the second. Rek'Sai would want them triggered until they were ready, but she could feel that time was quickly approaching.

          As Janna walked to her last class of the day with her mind elsewhere, she almost didn't notice the distant screaming, but when she did, it was obvious where it was coming from. Janna managed to signal Zephyr who quickly dashed away, and was back extremely quickly. Janna ducked into a stairwell and ran for the roof. Once she was sure that it was clear, Janna pulled her pendant from her neck. "Star Guardian Power Up!" Janna's feet almost didn't rest on the roof when she finished her transformation. Using her powers, she floated down from the roof, and towards the source of the commotion.

          Lux was spacing out with school almost over, her hope was that it would end before the seekers awoke, but as she looked out the window, she saw Dorcha hopping up and down and she knew that wouldn't be the case. It was then Dorcha stopped hopping and looked down the street. Lux ran to the window joined by a few of her classmates.

          Janna made her way through the chaos as she reached the atrium of the school, it was clear why everyone was panicking. Janna floated into it while noticing Rek'Sai already throwing collected energy orbs into a portal. Janna wound up a Tornado while taking careful aim. The twister shot through the room and Rek'Sai made a desperate effort to get as many through as possible, and almost succeeded in getting them all.

          "Well it seems that a lone guardian has come to stop us. But why just one?" Rek'Sai said with a sneer.

          "Oh they are on their way. You know I can do enough to keep you three busy while we wait." Janna replied, barely keeping her voice in check. She knew she was in trouble but somehow managed to keep it hidden.

          "Or is it maybe that you go to school here?" Rek'Sai probed Janna for her response. Janna just kept up her look of calm. "Or perhaps not. Either way, you will not survive until your friends get here." Rek'Sai turned to the twin monsters that were beside her. "Bors. Amia. Get her."

          Janna had barely any time to react before they jumped at her. Throwing another twister, she managed to knock them both up before she took cover. Zephyr jumped to one after Janna noticed the flank, and barely managed to dodge it. Janna knew that fighting in here wouldn't help anyone but her opponents, so she made a break for it while managing to look like she was looking for cover.

          "After her. I will deal with anything else." Rek'Sai yelled at the twins.

          "We obey." They said together and gave chase. Janna had managed to "locate" the massive gym in the school and she in turn set up an ambush, for all the good it would do. When the twins entered the gym, they were greeted with another twister, that somehow sent them both into the ceiling and then falling to the floor. Janna was actually proud of that before they turned on her. Throwing a barrier up, she dodged one attack, while she absorbed another.

          While dodging yet another series of blows, Janna took her first injury of the fight with a scratch on her arm. Janna threw up another barrier, twister, and sent Zephyr to slow one down so she could dodge yet another series of attacks. While she kept it up, she knew that it was only a matter of time until something connected. And that time turned to be sooner rather than later. With a swift kick, one of the twins managed to break her barrier and knock Janna into a wall. Hitting hard, she slumped down to the bottom and was slow to get back up.

          "You know, I always like unfair fights." Amia said as she moved into position.

          "Indeed sister. Now let's finish her." Bors said. As they both moved into for a final strike, Janna channeled her remaining strength and created her monsoon, which sent both of them into the bleachers. Hard. Recovering her strength from the injuries she took, Janna focused and readied for round two.

          "So you still have some strength left. That is good. Now maybe it will make vanquishing you a lot better. It is still an unfair fight."

          "So let's make it even then. Take this." A voice came and suddenly Amia was standing there alone while Bors was sent into a wall. Janna turned to see Debonair standing there.

          "You know, invitations would be nice. I hate missing the start of a party." He said with a grin, which got Janna' s spirits up. Bucking down, Janna now could do what she does best, control a fight while giving Debonair the support he needs. Janna threw a barrier around Debonair while he transformed his weapon and shot an energy pulse at Amia, which hit her square in the chest. While not knocking her back, it was clear that it hit hard.

          "You will pay for that fool." She said as she charged at Debonair, who only absorbed the attack with Janna's barrier, and Zephyr clamping on slowing her down, Debonair was able to land a very hard shot with his hammer on her that like her brother, sent her into a wall. Both of them were slow to get up but quickly recovered when they saw energy pulses heading their way. Dodging the pulses from Debonair, they both went into attack mode against separate targets. This was something they quickly learned wasn't a good idea as Janna sent a twister to Bors while Debonair knocked Amia back then sent a pulse Bors' way.

          Janna and Debonair paused for a moment to catch their breath while the other two tried to shake off the amount of damage they just took. The fight was almost fair when they were 2v1, now it clearly wasn't. Amia and Bors looked at each other before charging together. Debonair dodged out of the way while Janna threw another twister, which they dodged, but they were unprepared for Debonair's hammer as he swung it and again knocked them both away. But not before they both got in a few hits on him.

          Debonair recoiled as Janna couldn't get her barrier up fast enough as she was dodging from the expected attack. Janna looked to him and Debonair smiled back. "It was just a flesh wound." Janna rolled her eyes and snickered a bit while he also snickered for a second before dodging yet another attack while Janna also dodged around causing both monsters to miss. It was becoming obvious that the two monsters were becoming frustrated, but it was then that they both lunged, and while Debonair and Janna both dodged around, their attack pattern became obvious and they both took a few hits, scratches, and it was their turn to be throw into a wall.

          As both of them struggled to get up, the monsters laughed at their fortunes. Janna knew that now both she and Debonair couldn't win on their own. They needed help but Lux and Poppy still hadn't shown. Meaning that whatever was going on, they couldn't get away. As they both got to their feet, Janna looked over and saw that Debonair was just as wounded as she was. As the monsters charged again, Debonair transformed his hammer, ready to counter the upcoming blow, but Janna had another idea. Focusing her powers for the second time, she conjured up another monsoon, which slammed the twins back into the opposite wall. The rains generated healed them both, not fully, but enough.

          That wasn't the end though. The twins recovered, abet more slowly than they had in the past. As they took to their positions again, Janna and Debonair moved to counter. It was almost a standoff, before Amia charged while Bors flanked around. Debonair met Amia with his energy pulse while Janna slowed Bors and then threw a barrier on herself as Amia rebounded from her attack and swung at her. Debonair reacted quickly and slammed them both into the bleachers. This time, they were extremely slow to get up, but when they did, they launched such a desperate attack that they both missed to the point where Janna and Debonair were able to just move out of the way and back into position.

          Both the monsters recoiled for yet another attack. It was then they noticed a shimmering energy field around them. Before they could even react, it detonated in their faces. Janna and Debonair turned to see Lux and Poppy running into the gym from the opposite side. Janna smiled as they finally had the power they needed to take them down. Lux saw that both of them were wounded from the fight, but they had managed to hold on. Poppy didn't waste time and charged straight into the fight while Lux threw a shield on her while Janna and Debonair stepped back to catch their breath. Poppy pinned one against the bleachers and her hammer sent it flying, while Lux threw a binding and several bolts from her baton at the other. Roaring in pain, the two were down, but reacted quickly when Lux began to focus to eliminate them.

          That brought them back into a group where Lux and Poppy were finally able to get a second to talk.

          "You both ok?" Lux asked while keeping an eye on the twins.

          "Yeah. Nice timing. I'm not sure how much longer we could have held." Janna replied.

          "Oh longer than you think. But yeah, not much longer." Debonair added with a note of defeat.

          "Well we're here now. So let's finish this." Poppy said and with that the twins attacked again. This time however, they were outnumbered 2 to 1 and two of them were fresh. Poppy partnered with Janna against Bors, while Lux and Debonair went up against Amia.

          Poppy kept up steady pressure against Bors, hitting him with her hammer, slamming him into walls, and generally knocking him around. Bors got a few hits in, but they either glanced of Poppy's armor, or Janna's barriers. Janna for her part, kept up the tornadoes and Zephyr kept jumping around slowing Bors. Eventually Bors found an opening and managed to get Poppy across the face. That was a mistake as Poppy swung her hammer above her head and brought it down. Bors flew into the ceiling and then back to the ground in a heap.

          Lux and Debonair kept up their pressure by making Amia either dodge Debonair's attack, to get hit by Lux, or vice versa. Lux kept up her steady attacks with singularities and bindings, and a few bolts from her baton, while Debonair kept changing stances between ranged and melee keeping Amia on her toes and heels as she kept having to dodge. At one point she had an opening and swung at Debonair, who dodged, only to be hit full in the face by Lux with a binding and several bolts. Roaring in anger, Amia attacked again only to realize that she was still bound, which resulted in Debonair sending her into the wall with her brother.

          Lux threw another singularity to keep them there and then focused her powers. Debonair and Poppy stood in front to knock them back if they got up, while Janna stood behind to throw another barrier if needed. Lux threw her baton in the air and unleashed her full power. "Final Spark." The beam encompassed both twins and they disintegrated. "Dusted."

          Lux touched back down and was about to move towards Poppy and Debonair, when she threw herself into Janna, knocking her out of the way. Poppy and Debonair turned to see Rek'Sai emerging from the floor. She was clearly trying to interrupt Lux, but missed the timing. Lux and Janna landed a few feet away and quickly got to their feet while Poppy and Debonair charged in, swinging their hammers in unison, they knocked Rek'Sai into a wall, from which she didn't get up.

          "Did we get her?" Poppy asked.

          "Doubt it." Janna replied, and she was correct as a second later, Rek'Sai shook her head and got back to her feet. Roaring, she looked around but knew she was outgunned.

          "Enough of this you monster. You cannot stop us. We are the Star Guardians. Sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you. We have won this time. Now either surrender or be destroyed."

          Rek'Sai weighed her options, and quickly ripped open a portal. "I will return you brats." And disappeared through it. Lux attempted to throw a binding but missed. After calming down a bit, Lux turned to Janna and Debonair.

          "You both did great. Sorry we didn't get here sooner but we were um…held up."

          "That's fine, but I think we should get out of here before the police storm the building." Debonair said in reply.

          "Good point." Janna said and the four of them quickly sprinted for the roof. Once there, they got a good view of the police storming into the building while they sat on the roof catching their breath. They all looked at each other for a moment, and started laughing. The tension that they had been under for the fight broke instantly. They all just had it out and once they finally recovered, they all just looked at each other, and parted ways.

          Debonair disappeared down a ladder while the Guardians jumped from the roof and made for a grove of trees that would be able to conceal them as they powered down. Once they were sure the coast was clear, they emerged and headed home, making sure to steer away from the massive police presence.

          "So what happened? What took so long?" Janna asked as they walked home.

          "Well the police decided to implement a new procedure when an attack happens near or at a school. They empty the schools, classroom by classroom then they have to make sure that everyone is off. So finding a spot to meet up and then transform was difficult to say the least as there was police everywhere." Lux said, retelling their story.

          "They were paranoid about anyone going off script or going to a secluded place. Eventually we had to transform separately and meet up on the way here. It was luck that we even found each other before we got here. Hopefully it won't happen again." Poppy added as Lux trailed off.

          "Well hopefully it won't happen again. And maybe this time we can get to the seeker earlier." Janna said after a few seconds as the three approached a spot where they had to split up. Quickly coming up with a common story, they all took a second to remember it. Reaching the spot, they all turned to each other, nodded, and headed for home.

          What was strange for Lux is when she go home, it was only Garen in front of the TV. "Where's mom? I already saw dad."

          "Still at work. She has been calling me non-stop. To say that she is concerned is an understatement. Now for you inevitable question, no, I wasn't near where those things emerged. I only heard about it while running out of the building. I'm guessing you stayed nearby to watch?"

          "Kind of. Most of the fighting apparently took place inside as they stormed in and they came out shortly afterward. So I'm guessing that the void lost this time."

          "Hope so. Heard from Janna? I know she was closer."

          "She ran, and we literally ran into each other." Which was somewhat true. "We stayed but she headed for home before I did." And with that, Lux headed upstairs. Lux hated lying to her family, but this was something she knew he'd never be able to process, and keep to himself. It was paramount that their families remained insulted from their alternate lives, and if that meant lies, then so be it. "It still doesn't make me feel any better." She said to herself as she closed the door to her room.

          When Janna got home, she was greeted by her parents, who were very concerned. "We were worried. Are you ok?" Her father asked as she walked in.

          "Yeah I'm fine. I managed to get out before anything really happened. I ran into Lux, literally, and we stayed while I tried to process it. Then I left earlier while she stayed. I guess I wandered on the way home. I'm sure you called, but I just didn't notice." Janna said, carefully remembering her part of the story.

          "Well next time do please. At least you are safe. Now how about some dinner?" Her mother asked as Janna trailed off.

          "Sounds great."

          "Stayed to watch Poppy?" Her father asked as she walked into her house.

          "I couldn't say no. But we didn't see anything. Most of it was inside. Once I figured that out, I started walking home. It was an interesting day." Poppy said matter-of-factly.

          "I would say so. Still, your mother is picking up something on her way home. What do you plan to do in the meantime?"

          "Probably just watch TV actually." Poppy replied and jumped onto the couch next to her father. She carefully put her head onto his shoulder and they watched the news fallout from the battle. Poppy felt a little twinge of guilt when they talked about some of the damaged, but it went away quickly when she reminded herself that it was either that, or people get hurt.

          One thing all three agreed on before they parted was that this story of lying would eventually come back to haunt them. But they all agreed that it was also necessary.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile, Malzahar was surveying the energy Rek'Sai managed to collect. "Rek'Sai. I am pleased with your progress. You haven't collected more than Kha'Zix did, but you are making progress. Just watch yourself. You came close today, let that be a lesson."

          "Yes Prophet. I will not let those guardians interfere again."

          "They will interfere Rek'Sai, it is how you handle it that I am judging."

          "Yes Prophet." Rek'Sai turned to leave, and would remember the Prophet's words as she planned her next attack.


	15. Something's in Short Supply

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With yet another defeat, Rek'Sai is starting to rethink her strategy, and knowing what they did about Star Guardians, she turns one of their weaknesses against them.

          Janna dodged out of the way again as Poppy moved in to pin the monster down again, but to say she was missing was a bit of an understatement. Rek'Sai kept attacking so much lately, that between keeping up with schoolwork and all of the attacks, the three Guardians barely had enough time to sleep. Poppy at least managed to hit the monster this time, pinning it against a wall while Lux threw a binding to keep it pinned.

          "Final Spark." Lux threw what was left of her focus into her powers and dusted their fourth enemy in as many days. Every day was a challenge lately, but while the first two enemies were rather powerful, the one from yesterday and the one today were weaker in comparison. It almost seems like Rek'Sai was trying to either tire them out, or keep them distracted. Or both. But that was too much thinking for the moment as all three Guardians slumped down against a wall to catch their breath.

          "Well. Hopefully we can rest tomorrow." Poppy finally said after a few minutes.

          "What is the likelihood of that?" Janna almost snapped back. "Sorry, too tired." She quickly caught herself.

          "No problem. Let's head back and maybe find a cure for this." The three got up and sprinted off, or rather fast walked. Rek'Sai carefully watched them leave and knew that her plan was starting to fall apart. The first two battles were both drawn out and lasted for some time, but yesterday's and today's were barely anything on the radar. Rek'Sai knew that she was keeping them from getting sleep, but it was only a matter of time before even a 3 year old could take down one of her seekers. She needed at least another two days to grow her monster to the point where it might defeat the guardians, but if she even allowed them one day of rest, then it would be a massive problem. If she were to spawn a monster tomorrow, she would have to risk hunting in the daylight. A risk worth taking.

          As Lux, Janna, and Poppy powered down in the comfort of the tower, and all three collapsed into chairs as they fought sleep. Dorcha and Solas were looking at the three and the two knew that the Guardians couldn't keep this up for much longer. It wasn't long before Vel'Koz joined them. All present looked at him and Vel'Koz just hovered closer to the ground.

          "I wish I could help you but there isn't much I can do right now. I can't manipulate time and I wish I could. I would suggest you all go home and try and get some sleep. I have an idea for one of your problems. If you let me know what homework you all have, I could find a way to get it done."

          "Problem. Or well not really. None of us have any left. We agreed to hammer it out so we could hopefully get some sleep tonight. But given the fact we are so on edge, we couldn't get sleep if we wanted. With school tomorrow, I'm sure one of us will be getting in trouble for falling asleep in class." Lux said, while she was clearly struggling to keep her head up.

          "I understand that part. I can help with that bit. Give me a minute." Vel'Koz floated back out and raced to his lab. Inside was something he made for this type of occasion. It wouldn't help them sleep better, but it would remove the nerves they were all suffering from so they could relax. Returning to the room, he saw them all asleep. "Let me know when they are awake" he said to Dorcha and Solas who just nodded in reply. Vel'Koz floated back out and resumed his rounds of the Library and Museum.

* * *

 

          Rek'Sai was smiling as she walked around her nest making it more comfortable. Her pan was working to some degree. She could tell the Guardians were getting tired and tomorrow they would be in for a shock. She had carefully let the seeker she was going to deploy tomorrow grow larger than normal since she needed a big distraction to completely tire out the guardians before the following day where she would unleash her carefully selected and nurtured seeker. She laughed a bit at her own plan before curling up in part of the nest and getting some sleep herself.

* * *

 

          Poppy was jolted out of the dream she was having by a tap on the shoulder from Janna, who had also woken Lux up as she was stretching in the background. Poppy got down and also did a few stretches before Vel'Koz floated back into the room. "I know you are all on edge, but I think these will help you all to relax. They won't improve your sleep, but they will allow you to fall asleep. Just make sure you are ready. I manufactured them using some Void Energy, so they will leave you cold so be prepared."

          "If they are made from Void Energy, won't we be detected?"

          "The risk is almost non-existent. They will be able to sense the energy, but not where it is or where it is coming from."

          The three Guardians looked at each other, but after Janna shrugged, they all grabbed the pills that Vel'Koz offered. They all needed to relax, and if this helped, then so be it. Side effects, and all. Vel'Koz smiled in his weird way as he knew he could have at least tried to help. Getting home, all three Guardians mentioned they were tired and headed up to bed, but not without eating dinner first. While all three were a bit nervous about using the pills, a good night's sleep was worth a trade off of their apprehension. All three took the pills, and it was almost like ice was flowing through their bodies, but it did calm them down and after they all put their minds about tomorrow away, they settled down to sleep.

* * *

 

          During the night, Rek'Sai felt something was different. There was some void energy that she didn't sense before. She couldn't pin it down, but it appears that some people were experimenting with Void Energy. The thought of it made her sick, but she couldn't space the time to hunt it down as she checked on her two seekers. Noting they were almost ready made her smile, but with so much of the night left, looking for the source of the void energy tempted her, but with it being so localized, Rek'Sai knew she would have be almost right on top of it to identify it clearly. Even nearby wouldn't be enough, so she left back for her nest to wait out until the next attack.

* * *

 

          The following morning saw Lux, Janna, and Poppy waking from a rather refreshing night's sleep. They weren't completely caught up, but it was several steps in the right direction. School would probably take care of the rest. At least in the fact that they would be able to not use as much energy because it was going to be a boring day. Lux would be watching a movie that she's seen so many times that the report they were supposed to do while watching it, she had already finished. Poppy would be working on an assignment due the following week that she had mostly finished. Janna would have her normal classes, but since her work was done, she would sleep in study hall.

          School for all three passed by slowly as they kept looking out the window for Dorcha, Solas, and/or Zephyr who were keeping eye on the city and waiting for Rek'Sai to attack. But the day passed without incident. As they were leaving school, Lux walked with Amy to her mother's shop to do their weekly crafting event in the park. Poppy headed to meet her father at a local metal shop to get some more for the project he was working on. Janna headed with Jayce and Garen to the mall to just enjoy the time.

          As the evening rush hour picked up and people flooded everywhere, Rek'Sai was carefully watching her seeker. The person it attached to was making life for the workers under her. She was one of the supervisors that coordinated the trains coming in and out of the station. Rek'Sai knew it was a calculated risk attacking the same place twice, but she knew that Kha'Zix made off with a lot of energy from his previous attack so she figured she might get lucky. As the evening rush hour approached, Rek'Sai moved into position to activate her seeker.

          As the school day was over, Lux, Janna, and Poppy were at the tower waiting for Rek'Sai's next attack. The fact nothing happened during the day, was a warning sign that she was ready for something heavy. Lux was doing some new homework they had been assigned at the bar, while Poppy was upstairs training a bit, and Janna was trying to relax so she was stroking Zephyr and Dorcha while Solas sat on her shoulder. The map of the city was incredibly quiet, but they knew it was only a matter of time.

          "This is really annoying, I just wish she would do something already." Janna finally burst out. Lux picked her head up from her work.

          "They say a watched pot never boils." Lux said with a smile on her face. Janna just glared back. "That said, I'm unsure what is worse, the wait or the battle."

          "The wait" Poppy said as she came back down, still transformed. She rested her hammer against the wall, and jumped up on a chair at the table to join Janna. "It's always worse. Why do you think whenever you are going somewhere it takes longer compared to when you are going home."

          "Good point. I just wish something would happen. It's been a boring day."

          "I'll take a boring day right now." They all turned to each other as Lux finished, and they all burst out laughing. As they calmed down, they all felt something. A presence. Lux quickly grabbed her locket, while Janna pulled her pendant from her neck.

          "Star Guardian Power Up." In a flash, both of them were transformed and Poppy joined them as she retrieved her hammer. Each of them reached out to feel where it was coming from.

          "The Station!" They burst out and practically teleported out of the tower as they sprinted for the building for the second time. By the time they got there, it was apparent that the seeker was there, but hadn't come out yet. The cold emanating from the building however was impossible to ignore. Janna and Poppy turned to Lux who thought for a moment and then nodded.

          "Ok here's what we are going to do. Let's spoil Rek'Sai's day for once. Poppy, you and Janna head into the station and see if you can get a better idea where the seeker is. I'm find one of the police officers and get them to start evacuating." Janna and Poppy nodded and, knowing that concealing themselves would be missing the point entirely, they hopped down from the building they were standing on and bolted for the front entrance. Lux followed quickly behind, and began looking for a police officer. It didn't take long as three of them were bolting for the doors that Janna and Poppy just sprinted through. Lux moved up to them.

          "There is going to be an attack here. Very soon. Start evacuating." She said.

          "You certain?" One of the officers asked.

          Lux just gave him a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Yes I'm certain. Notice how it's rather cold here despite the fact it's a warm day?" They all nodded. "Clear sign of void energy. We can sense it better than you. Now please start evacuating."

          One of the officers grabbed his radio. "9540 to dispatch. Probable attack at the train station downtown. Require officers to assist in evacuation."

          "Roger 9540, what is the source of the information?"

          "Oh I'm staring and talking to an increasingly irritated Guardian." He said now rolling his eyes.

          Lux was just thinking 'what goes around comes around'.

          "Roger 9540. Start evacuation. All available units on route. Lux nodded but as she turned to the doors, she felt the seeker awaken.

          "Um you might want to put a rush on that. Got to go." Lux bolted into the station with the officers following close behind. One of them quickly tripped the alarm and they all began directing passengers out of the station. Lux sprinted for where she felt the energy, but didn't go too far before it found her. A loud bang caused Lux to turn and then to a tumble roll out of the way of a flying door. Out of it came a monster, and Poppy.

          While Lux was trying to convince the Police to get the evacuation started, Poppy and Janna storming into the station and then down the stairs was enough to get people to start moving towards the exits at a rather rapid pace. Poppy kept watch while Janna sensed where the energy was coming from. She focused and after a few seconds identified it. "Let's go." She said and started moving towards a staff only door. "Would you mind?" Janna asked to a security guard who was nearby. Poppy was only all to happy to beat it down, but, at least for now, Janna thought avoiding needless property destruction was best. The guard opened the door and the two sprinted through.

          Finding the source of the energy wasn't hard as the raised voices was all they needed. "She really likes people who obsess doesn't she?" Poppy said as they sprinted for the source of the commotion.

          "Well it's easy. Just feed them a bit and they go nuts." Janna replied as they rounded a corner and approached a control room of some sorts. The guard outside was ever to happy to let them in as she was clearly scared about something. Or intimidated by them, but the issue at hand was more pressing so they didn't want to figure it out. They both moved inside to find a man standing over the other people in the room. Enraged, he was just screaming.

          "All of you are worthless. You can't do your jobs correctly and do what I say. So how about I just drain your energy as you won't need it." And with that, the seeker arose, and pulled energy from the room around it. The orbs that were in the room were carefully hidden and it managed to collect a lot of energy. "Excellent now to my…"

          "Hold it right there!" The monster turned and his face went from happy to angry at the drop of a hat. Behind him were two guardians and he flew into a rage. But in that rage, it forgot to aim and instead of hitting Poppy or Janna, it flew through the still open door and into the hallway. Poppy was quick to give chase while Janna destroyed the orbs that it already collected. Once that was done, Janna quickly turned around to join Poppy, only to find her charging and throwing the monster back into the main hall where she almost flattened Lux with how she charged out of the door.

          Rek'Sai was about to join the monster when she saw the guardians, and snarled. She knew that it was a risk doing this plan, but she didn't expect this fast of a response. Rek'Sai figured she might be able to get away with the orbs the monster collected in the beginning, only to find those shattered. 'Great I lose a seeker and get nothing out of this. Malzahar will not be happy. ' Rek'Sai left the station quickly before she saw the results of the fight. She knew it wouldn't be good.

          The monster for its part was trying to fight off three thoroughly annoyed and angry Guardians, who were unrelenting in their attacks. Lux kept throwing singularities and bindings, Poppy keeping close and getting hits with her hammer, and Janna using Zephyr and her abilities to keep the monster from landing a clear hit. After a few minutes of chaos, it roared and sprinted for the open air at the end of the station. The three quickly gave chase and emerged into a rail yard. Now the monster did have an advantage. It could hide and possibly throw things at them, or whatever powers it has access to.

          Lux directed Poppy in front for two reasons. First, she could take a hit and shake it off, and second, because she and Janna could barrier any attack. They moved carefully through the yard keeping an ear out for anything out of the ordinary. More than a few times they all had to stop as something caused them to turn. They were all careful however to not start throwing abilities randomly as that is what the monster wanted.

          Suddenly a flash caught Poppy's eye and after a brief second, isn't tackling the monster, but rather her teammates as a large metal object flew past them all and landed squarely in a train car behind them. The three of them got to their feet to take a look at what flew at them, and it was a train axle. They all looked at each other before they were diving again as another large metal object came flying at them. At least from the throw they were able to determine where the monster was and charged after it.

          When they rounded another train car, they were all diving again to avoid yet another object. At least they found the monster and Poppy not wanting to wait another second, got up, raised her hammer, and charged after the monster. Lux threw a barrier around her, while Janna sent Zephyr to slow it down. Poppy brought her hammer down with such force that it knocked aside a pile of rail ties and sent the monster flying onto a nearby roof.

          The Guardians quickly jumped up to the roof and dodged around smaller projectiles that flew in their direction. Finally managing to land a binding, Lux was about to focus, when she lost her balance and had to tumble roll to regain her balance, landing a few feet from the edge of the roof. The monster seeing this charged after Lux, but was not only slowed by Zephyr again, but Janna sent a twister its way, knocking it up into the air. When it came slamming back down on the roof. Poppy immediately charged it into a wall, where Lux sent a binding to make sure it stayed there.

          Lux focused her powers again, and threw her baton in the air. "Final Spark." The beam of light turned the monster to dust and Lux dropped back onto the roof, then collapsed against the outside of a structure on it. "Dusted. Now hopefully that is it."

          "Probably not." Poppy's comment saw Lux put her head in her hands for a few minutes before lifting it up again. She knew that Poppy was probably right, but they all couldn't take much more of this. They were already exhausted, and it was only a matter of time before Rek'Sai did something to exhaust them completely. None of them were caught on up sleep and it would be a while before they were. While they were doing a bit better, they would all be probably using Vel'Koz's pills again to get at least some sleep.

          "At least tomorrow is the weekend." Lux finally said as she rested her head against het building behind her.

          "Yeah but that doesn't mean we can relax." Janna reminded her but no sooner than were the words out of her mouth did she regret saying them. Lux just shot her a look and shook her head. Inside, Lux knew that Janna was right, but for now, she knew that it was the wrong thing to say. And that still wouldn't have stopped her from getting mad.

          "Look, I think we could all use the rest of the day apart. We are good together, but I think we all getting on each other nerves. Let's just go home, rest, and be ready for tomorrow." Poppy said sensing the air between everyone. Lux and Janna turned to her and just nodded. They all knew friends had fights, but right now, having a stupid one over lack of sleep wasn't going to be helping any of them.

          They all got up and jumped down off the roof and headed for a grove of trees near the Library that they would power down in. Once they were done with that, they all looked at each other, nodded, and headed home to rest for the following day, which would no doubt be worse.

          Lux wanted to hang out with Amy, but with her exhaustion taking over, thought it best to go home to get some dinner, then sleep until morning. Janna dodged a few calls during her walk home, and after eating dinner, retired for the evening. Poppy likewise followed something similar. Finishing a quick assignment, she had dinner with her family, then also went to bed. At least it was easy to explain their exhaustion to their families, but that didn't make losing an entire evening easy.

* * *

 

          During the night, Rek'Sai set out to inspect her seeker for tomorrow. As she approached it, she took great satisfaction that it was ready and waiting. After waiting this week, she knew it would be easy to defeat those pesky guardians and anyone else that showed up to help them. Rek'Sai was about to leave when she again noticed the same void energy from the previous night. Since she had time this evening, she set out to find the source, knowing that would be an extremely difficult task.

          She spent the entire night searching, but given the power level of the points, Rek'Sai knew that unless she was right on top of it, literally, she wouldn't find it. Just a general area, and even that wasn't good enough. Cursing that someone was playing around with their previous energy, she knew that with dawn rapidly approaching, she needed to get at least some rest herself before chaos started. Retreating to her nest, she made herself comfortable and drifted off.

* * *

 

          The dawn brought with it the hope of a new day, and three still extremely tired Guardians. While they were all doing better, the argument from the previous day still hung over their heads. Lux and Janna, knowing that the other liked to sleep late on the weekends, didn't call each other for fear that they would wake the other, but vowed to go to the library. Poppy for her part didn't have the restful night sleep she was hoping for, but still caught up a bit on her sleep. After eating breakfast, she said she was going to study with friends and made for the library.

          Lux for her part was slow to get out of bed, and it took Dorcha jumping onto her stomach to get her finally out of bed, while Solas somehow managed to push her feet off as well. Lux smiled at the two. "You know I really do appreciate you two. Crazy as you two are."

          "We know. Just trying to help." Dorcha said as she hopped back onto the bed. Lux smiled again, and headed down to breakfast.

          Zephyr was likewise having a problem getting Janna up so resorted to constantly pacing back and forth on her bed until it annoyed her enough. That didn't take long as Janna eventually rolled her eyes and after a playful shove, got up. Zephyr just hopped into her arms as Janna went downstairs for breakfast.

          A bit later, Poppy was the first to arrive at the tower where she pulled out something to read while waiting for the others. About a half hour later, Lux and Janna showed up, who turned to each other upon entering from different entrances.

          "Sorry about yesterday. I guess we are all just tired." Janna started.

"Yeah. We are. Hopefully today we can either sleep, or defeat whatever RekSai throws at us so we can sleep tomorrow." They hugged each other and Poppy breathed a sigh of relief. Now that was out of the way, they all turned to each other. A map of the city showed nothing out of the ordinary, but that wasn't going to last. The void energy that had been obscured by all of the other attacks lately was now more present than ever. They knew it was only a matter of time.

          "So I'm guessing we are all still tired so we can either take turns watching and sleeping, or…" Poppy started to say.

          "I can help with that" Nasus said as he entered with some new equipment. "I finally managed to get this thing to work properly. It's a police scanner so we might get some advance tip off. I can monitor all of this with those two" pointing to Dorcha and Solas, as Zephyr was already asleep" and let you know if something happens." Not arguing, the three headed up to their rooms, while Janna paused for a brief minute to grab the seemingly lazy cat. In reality, Zephyr wasn't sleeping, but knew he could get Janna to carry him if he faked it.

          The next few hours passed in relative easy as Lux, Janna, and Poppy all woke up of their own accord, and after they all headed down one by one, their worst fears weren't confirmed. Nothing happened and it was clear that Nasus was becoming a bit frustrated. "Well I guess she's going to wait for something. But what I don't know. So you all might want to get lunch." That was all it took for Lux, Janna, and Poppy to sprint out the door, followed by Solas and Zephyr, who were never ones to pass up a meal. Dorcha stayed behind to help Nasus, who quickly got her something to eat.

          After a brief discussion, they all headed for that new burger place that opened up to enjoy hopefully a full meal. The central location downtown was easy to relocate if an attack happened, and the fact that the place was packed would give them some privacy. Ordering took a while, but once they started looking for a seat, Janna elbowed Lux in the side and pointed to a corner, where Garen and Jayce. Garen looked up and waved them over. Not resisting an invitation to a table in this place, they all quickly made their way over.

          "Taking a break from studying?" He asked as the three sat down.

          "Yes. It's really annoying, but the library is actually a nice place to do it." Lux responded.

          "I'm sure. Now be glad that Draven has already left along with his friends."

          "Why do you hang out with him if he's that annoying?" Janna asked, slightly annoyed.

          "Because his brother is actually not that bad and knows people." Jayce said as he took another sip from his drink. "I know Darius has that reputation, but he could be a lot worse." That got looks from all of them.

          "Um Jayce, dude, Darius can be a bit" Garen said

          "Abrasive?" Came a voice from behind Garen. Turning, he saw Darius right there. "I know. Moving around a lot doesn't help with that. Also having an obnoxious little brother doesn't do anyone favors. Now did you see my, ah there it is." Darius bent down and grabbed something off the floor. "My phone. Well carry on." And with that he turned and left. That left the five of them staring.

          "Not what I expected." Poppy said finally breaking the silence.

          "Nope. I guess there are other things. Anyway here comes your food." Lux turned to see that lunch had indeed arrived. While they all ate quickly, they still took their time to make sure that if they needed to jump up and leave, they could without getting sick. After a bit, Garen and Jayce left, leaving the Guardians to themselves. They spent the rest of the meal in relative quiet as they were just expecting to leap up at any moment. However, they were able to finish and they headed back to the library.

          "I don't know what's worse. The battle or the wait?" Janna said as they walked.

          "Didn't we already have this conversation?" Poppy said as they rounded a corner onto a street which dead ended into the Library. As they rounded the corner however, something caught their attention, there were police cars everywhere and a lot of police around a specific area. Lux nodded and they moved towards the source of the commotion.

          "What do you mean they are all invalid? I have worked for years on this beat and been ticking for years. You have no right to invalidate these tickets. Every single one is correctly done."

          "That may be, but you have done this for years, and you have always given some leniency. You have been extremely hard lately and it is concerning. And then today you have written a few at the moment they expired. What happened?"

          "This isn't good." Lux said as they moved back a bit so they could sprint for some enclosed space to transform. As they moved back a bit however, they were hit with a wave of cold. "That's even worse. At least we found it."

          "Yeah but there are a lot of people around. We need to find way to separate them." Poppy said, surveying the crowd.

          "I don't think that will be easy as you think. We have to work on this carefully." Janna replied as she looked around.

          "Split up and move to surround this situation. Be ready to transform if necessary." Lux said as she started moving herself.

          "Right." Poppy and Janna. Zephyr jumped onto Janna's shoulder, ready to go, while Solas maneuvered around and into a tree to get an overhead view. Once they were all positioned, they all listened carefully for anything that would set it off. However, as they waited, another massive wave of cold was approaching and they knew Rek'Sai, which meant their time was up.

          All three Guardians broke for isolated spots as many people started backing away from the scene. The number of police that were now actively telling people to back up at this point was also helping. In the shadows, Lux grabbed her locket, Janna and Poppy their pendants. "Star Guardian Power Up!" All three quickly jumped to rooftops as the scene finally spiraled out of control.

          "Well if none of you will let me do my job, then I can't let you do yours either." Cables suddenly shot out of the officer's arms and encircled several civilians and police officers. "Your energy will be used for the Void!" With that the officer cackled as their energy was drained. The remaining officers quickly surrounded their "colleague" as she lashed out again, catching several more officers while the rest dodged out of the way. This was the moment Rek'Sai burst from the ground, but didn't find herself making it very far as Lux hit her instantly with a binding, and several bolts from her baton. Grunting in pain, Rek'Sai turned to the seeker.

          "Unia, I could use a hand." And with that, the seeker showed its true monster form, leaving its host. It stood next to Rek'Sai as the Guardians surrounded them. It was hideous to even look at. One arm looked like a bundle of cables, while the other looked more normal, but ended in what looked like that ticketing device that officers carried for parking enforcement. The monster's body was thin like her host, and colored similar to the police. The actual officers by the way were quickly getting people out of the way of the impending fight and dragging away the already unconscious civilians and fellow officers, with some help.

          "Well, you just can't help but cause trouble can you?" Poppy challenged Unia and Rek'Sai.

          "No little one. I can't." Rek'Sai responded, lashing out at Poppy with her tail, only to be rewarded with pain as Poppy expertly brought her hammer down on the fast moving tail and for a second, pinned Rek'Sai to the pavement. "Well, it seems that all of my stunts haven't worn you all out. Very well then, Unia attack. I will deal with the fool just arriving."

          Lux looked up to see Debonair running onto the scene, and seemingly anticipating what Rek'Sai would do, transformed his weapon into a hammer and let the void burrower have it. Janna quickly moved off to join Debonair while Poppy and Lux stayed behind to deal with Unia.

          "2 against one isn't much of a fair fight. Let's fix that." Unia lashed out at Poppy but as she was about to connect, changed targets and shot after Lux. While Lux had thrown her baton to create a barrier around Poppy to prepare for the blow, Poppy missed her hammer strike and quickly tried to rectify it by charging at Unia, as Lux braced for the blow, Unia quickly found that the barrier also extended to Lux. Bringing her arms down on the barrier, she rebounded and moved to strike again, but Lux had her baton back in her hand and Unia's attack once again fell on the barrier. As she rebounded from another attack, Poppy made sure that this time she didn't escape. Charging forward, Poppy pinned Unia against a wall.

          Lux attempted to throw a binding, but Unia recovered faster than expected and she missed. Not missing a beat, Lux threw a singularity at her, which she detonated and threw some more bolts. Poppy wasn't far behind Unia and kept either trying to hit her with her hammer, or pin her against another object, but Poppy kept having to dodge out of the way of either the cables flying from one arm, or the tickets being shot from the other.

          "Would you just hold still?"

          "Why don't you? I mean you are the one who has to keep dodging. My attacks. By the way, you're jaywalking. That's a ticket." Poppy tumble rolled out of the way as more tickets flew at her, embedding in the wall behind where she just rolled away from. Poppy turned and after a few seconds the wall dissolved.

          "Great. Acid." Poppy said as she picked herself up and charged again.

          "You do know attacking a police officer is punishable by law. So you are under arrest." The cables shot out and formed handcuffs. One landed on Poppy's arm, and she was dragged back to a light pole which the other attached to. Poppy frantically started working to free herself while Lux moved into protect her teammate and give her the time to do so. "So just you and me now. That seems fair."

          "It would be fair, if you actually knew what you were doing." Lux threw another binding to keep Unia from going after Poppy and keep the attention on her. And it seemed to be working. Unia kept going after Lux and she expertly dodged around her attacks and even a few more handcuff plays.

          Poppy meanwhile as trying to break the chain links, but wasn't having much luck. Growing frustrated, she pulled and even brought her hammer down on the cuffs, but nothing seemed to work. She was almost out of options, when a rouge shot from Debonair's weapon hit near her. Poppy quickly pulled the chain to its maximum length and turned to Debonair and Janna, who were still fighting with Rek'Sai.

          "Hey Debonair! A shot here please." Poppy yelled indicating the chain. Janna threw a twister at Rek'Sai to keep her busy for a few seconds while Lux threw a binding at Unia to keep her from interfering. Debonair took careful aim, threw out his gate, and then a pulse. The pulse shattered the chain and it spread to the cuffs, which also shattered. "Let's remember that. Now where was I?" Poppy charged after Unia and Lux was more than happy to throw the barrier as Poppy rammed her into a wall and then hit her with a massive hammer strike.

          As Lux and Poppy took off after Unia, Janna moved to help Debonair as he sent Rek'Sai into a building with his hammer. Moving quickly, he transforms his weapon and throws out another pulse at Rek'Sai as she got up and charged again. Debonair braced for the blow but found Rek'Sai's claws bounced off a barrier. He turned to see Janna floating behind him as Rek'Sai rebounded and held her claws in pain. Recovering quickly, Rek'Sai charged again and was met with Zephyr holding her back, a Twister from Janna, and then Debonair's hammer to her face.

          "Had enough?" Janna asked as Rek'Sai picked herself up from the ground again.

          "You wish." Rek'Sai responded, and she dived underground. Debonair and Janna immediately took positions just a little bit apart from each other. Far enough away that Rek'Sai couldn't hit them both if she emerged, but close enough to support each other. Each carefully felt around for Rek'Sai but both were quickly surprised when a pulse of void energy flew at them. Both of them dodged out of the way and after they both landed, Rek'Sai unburrowed just under where Janna had landed, managing to get in a few strikes before Janna got her barrier up. Janna then rolled out of the way, nursing her wounds while Debonair sent more pulses at Rek'Sai to get her off Janna while she recovered.

          Rek'Sai, taking the bait, left Janna and charged at Debonair, only to be met again with a hammer to the face for the third time this fight. Knowing she couldn't fall for that again, Rek'Sai moved around Debonair, who was trying to keep himself between Rek'Sai and Janna, who was still recovering from the strikes Rek'Sai got in. Debonair took a quick look back, and saw the wounds were more serious than he though, as Janna had yet to get back to her feet. Rek'Sai, seeing the brief look, charged, and got a few hits in on Debonair before getting a fourth hammer in the face. Rek'Sai flew for bit in the air, landing on the ground while Debonair rushed to Janna's side.

          "You ok?" He asked as he knelt down beside Janna.

          "No. That did a lot." Janna pulled her hand from her leg, which was not only heavily scratched, but also bleeding a bit. Janna was keeping pressure on the wound, but Debonair knew she wouldn't be getting up on that anytime soon.

          "I'll keep Rek'Sai off of you."

          "She'll find a way. All she needs to do is burrow, and I'm history. No. I have an idea. Lure her in." Janna said with a smile forming.

          "What?" That was just about the only thing that seemed like a valid response to that.

          "Lure her in. Trust me. You do don't you?" Janna asked. Debonair only nodded and as he stood back up, he noticed the Guardian's grip on her staff tighten. Debonair smiled as well, seeing the plan. He stood back up and noticed Rek'Sai was just getting to her numerous feet.

          "Zephyr, I'm going to need your help for this." Janna turned to the nearly invisible cat.

          "I got your back." He said in reply, waiting to pounce. Janna turned to watch and wait for just the right moment. Rek'Sai, enraged, charged straight at Debonair, who swung his hammer and "missed". Rek'Sai surprised, charged straight at Janna. Rek'Sai then onticed herself slowing down, and just as she approached Janna, she suddenly used all of her strength in her other leg, pushed herself off the ground and into the air. Summoning her powers, she conjured her monsoon which again threw Rek'Sai through the air and she slammed hard into the ground.

          As Janna landed back on her feet, the wounds on her leg, while they didn't heal completely, were enough to where she could resume the fight. Grabbing her staff tightly in her hands, she summoned a twister which just sent Rek'Sai into the air and again slamming hard into the ground again.

          "Property damage is a crime. Here's some more tickets for your behavior. Lux and Poppy dived out of the way of yet more "tickets" from Unia's arm cannon thing. Then they dodged again while cables flew from her other arm trying to entangle them. Poppy managed to dodge them both, but Lux wasn't so lucky. One of the smaller cables managed to wrap around her ankle, tripping Lux and sending her slamming into the ground. Hard. "Got one. Now you are under arrest."

          Lux tried to fight the cable free, but a few more sprouted from it, entangling her legs. Poppy quickly tried to intervene, but more tickets force her yet again to dodge. The cables worked their way to Lux's torso, where she was eventually lifted up in the air. With her arms bound to her side, Lux couldn't do anything as she was pulled inches from Unia's face.

          "It seems I finally have one of you. Now to end your pitiful existence." Unia brought the cannon to Lux's face.

          "You destroy me, another will rise." Lux said through gritted teeth as she still attempted to get free.

          "True. But as we have seen. That won't be for a while. And long after we have completed our plan." Unia charged her cannon but quickly turned it on Poppy who was charging again. "Little one can't you see I'm conducting police business? No. Didn't think so. So here's some more." Unia let the charge blast from her cannon and while Poppy dodged out of the way, it wasn't in the way she wanted. Rolling further from Lux than she wanted to, Poppy knew her options were running out.

          "If I'm that much of a bother to you, just come at me. Clearly you can't handle two at once." Poppy taunted. It worked. Unia again focused her cannon on Poppy who despite taking a few of them, managed to dodge most of the attacks, as the ones that did land, just dissolved almost harmlessly against her armor.

          Lux meanwhile was trying anything to get free and it wasn't working. The cables wrapped around tightly and with her arms bound, she couldn't even help Poppy and Lux knew she couldn't keep it up forever. Wiggling again, the cables bound tighter and it was becoming hard for Lux to breathe. Then, Unia shot a series of tickets at Poppy forcing her around several cars and out of range finally. Turning back to Lux, Unia pulled her cannon again just inches from her face.

          "Now where were we?" Unia charged the cannon, and Lux just looked straight back into her eyes. Knowing this would probably be it, Lux just accepted it. Then out of the corner of her eye, Lux caught a glint of something. Unia noticed it as well and turned. It was then a shot rang out and Lux suddenly found herself falling to the ground. Managing to land on her feet, Lux quickly threw off the cables and turned to see the shooter. Caitlyn was on a rooftop quite a distance away and once again her accuracy with her rifle was well earned. Hitting the cables right where they would sheer off, Lux just nodded.

          Turning back to Unia, who was still screaming in pain, Lux threw out a binding and rooted her in place. Drawing her strength, Lux forced her powers and threw her baton in the air. "Final Spark." Throwing her powers through her laser, she turned Unia finally into dust. Landing back on the ground, Lux turned to Poppy who had finally managed to get close enough.

          "Nice shot. You ok?" Poppy asked, her voice betraying her concern.

          "Let's worry about the other thing right now." Lux reminded her and charged off towards Janna, Debonair, and Rek'Sai, with Poppy in close pursuit.

          Lux's beam had gotten Rek'Sai's attention just long enough to allow Debonair to hit her with his hammer again. At least time he hit her torso and not her face. Rek'Sai was sent against a nearby building, and Poppy, charging into her, and Lux throwing a binding made sure that she stayed there.

          Recovering, Rek'Sai looked around and noticed she was now outnumbered heavily and severely outgunned. Once the binding wore off, she knew that it was probably her only chance.

          "You have won this battle Guardians, but now we will win the war." Ripping open a portal, she fled through it. Finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, they all turned to each other.

          "Until next time ladies." Debonair said, quickly hurrying off. The three Guardians turned to each other and with a brief nod, set off to a secluded location. Once they were all clear they all powered down, and Janna immediately winced as she put pressure on her injured leg. Lux quickly moved to help her friend, but Janna just waved it off.

          "I'm not sure how I'm going to explain this, but I'll figure something out." Zephyr had looked concerned as he looked at his companion while Solas hopped over and seeing the marks on Janna' leg, was also visibly concerned.

          "Whether you want help walking or not, we need to get that looked at and you know it." Zephyr said as the rest nodded. Janna opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't as the pain was a bit more than she was expecting. Nodding in defeat, she accepted help as they made their way back to the street. As if by magic, a van pulled up with Nasus in the driver's seat.

          "Need a lift?" He asked.

          "Definitely. Janna needs to get her leg looked at." Poppy said. 

          "Don't worry about that. I can look at back in the tower." Janna said as the three climbed in. Zephyr and Solas hopped into the front seat. Nasus carefully made his way around the roadblocks that the police had set up to keep people away from the fight and wasn't asked many questions as they moved through the city. It was only as they did so that the thought of how long that battle had lasted occurred to the Guardians.

          "Nasus, how long were we fighting?" Janna asked as she looked out the tinted windows.

          "Almost an hour from start to finish. Caitlyn was almost ready to send the Special Task Force in until you were caught in that monster's cables." He said pointing to Lux in the rearview mirror. Lux felt another ping of guilt and fear at that. "Caitlyn then called them back and climbed the roof to where she could get a shot. And well you know the rest. Here we go."

          The drive itself seemed to take no time, but given the fact an hour had gone by since the attack started, all three quickly looked at their phones to see if there were any messages from their families. And sure enough there were. Janna quickly texted her mother back saying she was ok, while Lux and Poppy followed suit. Once the van was parked in the garage, Lux helped Janna out of the van and they made their way to the tower.

          "Over here. Sit." Nasus said indicating a chair while he quickly got down a first aid kit from one of the cabinets. Lux helped Janna into the chair, putting Janna's injured leg on another while Poppy moved to the side. Nasus came back and quickly opened it. "Now this will sting a bit, but it will heal most of what remains. Ready?"

          "Yes." Janna took a deep breath as Nasus put the dropper he pulled out of the kit next to her leg. Once the liquid inside was on her skin, it burned, and it took everything Janna had to stop from screaming, but she held it as the burning sensation quickly went away. Opening her eyes, Janna looked at her leg, which for the most part was healed. Only discoloration on her skin was left from Rek'Sai's claws. Janna put her leg back on the ground and after testing it under her weight, smiled.

          "Thanks. What is that stuff?" Janna asked as walked around despite her muscles screaming at her.

          "A special salve Vel'Koz developed for this type of situation. Were you wounds more serious, it would be less effective, but it can do a lot more than expect. Just take it easy for the next day or so." Nasus said, putting everything away. 

          "I think I will be spending tomorrow sleeping to be honest." Janna replied as she sat back down.

          "Understandable. If you have nothing else I think Vel'Koz wanted a few words." The three of them shook their heads and Nasus put the kit back and left. The silence that followed his departure was think as none of them wanted to say anything. After a few minutes Vel'Koz entered and noticing the tension around hovered over to the table before speaking.

          "All of you should be proud of what you did today. That was no easy fight and yet you all handled it like experts. You all did the best you could. Now I doubt Rek'Sai will attack again so soon so I think you can have tomorrow off. Or at least I hope so. Good job all of you."

          Janna and Poppy just nodded and after grabbing Zephyr, they both headed out. Lux however stayed at the table. Vel'Koz who was just about to leave himself turned back around at the door and floated back to the table. "Something on your mind Miss Crownguard?" The use of her last name jolted Lux out of her stupor. Turning to Vel'Koz, she just sat back in her chair and formulated her thoughts before speaking. Vel'Koz just waited for the question or statement to come.

          "Vel, what happens to a Guardian when she is defeated?" Vel'Koz was taking aback by two things. The usage of a shortened name, which no one really did with him, second, the nature of the question.

          "I'm sorry Lux but I don't know. After that last battle we didn't find the bodies or anything that was left of the previous team. Now Janna has an obvious reason for not finding anything, but the rest…I have no idea." Vel'Koz kept his voice neutral, but he was concerned. 

          "Thank you. I guess I'll just have to find a way to figure it out." Lux said. Her voice clearly trying to hide something. 

          "If you need to talk, I'm here." Vel'Koz assured her. 

          "I know." Lux grabbed her bag and headed for home. She was looking forward to the sleep she would be getting the next day.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile in her nest, Rek'Sai was fuming. She was so close to winning, but was also defeated. Fuming she just paced around her nest and continued to second guess her plans. She literally wounded one of the Guardians and her minion had another so close to her end. Her fuming led her to ignore the rather large presence in her nest.

          "I do like what you have done with the place, but it could be larger." Cho'Gath finally said after he watched Rek'Sai pace for about 5 minutes. Rek'Sai stoppe din her tracks and turned to face him.

          "Well I wasn't expecting visitors. If I had, especially one as large as yourself. What do you want?"

          "I am here from Malzahar who liked your previous attack." Rek'Sai, caught off guard, just stood there. Cho'Gath, seeing the confusion, continued. "You came close to eliminating two of the Guardians and getting energy. You made more progress than Kha'Zix did with this one attack. Now you can't rest on that. You did good work, and now you are expected to perform better. Good luck." Cho'Gath disappeared through a portal, laughing as he did so.

          Rek'Sai threw a boulder where he was in more frustration. She knew that it was a risk to use an attack like that, but she also knew that she could do better. Rek'Sai hunkered down and began planning her next attack.

* * *

 

          At home, Lux had settled down into bed, while Dorcha and Solas watched her. With what she just went through they knew the next few days would be challenging. For her part, Lux settled into an uneasy sleep.


	16. Silent and Frightening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having to deal with a near death experience is never easy and it never turns out how you will think. So how will Lux deal with it and how will it impact her relationships? Find out.

          Lux shot up from her pillows yet again. Despite the fact that is was almost 5 days ago, she was still having the same dream. Over and over again she saw Unia with her cannon, ticket thing, whatever to her head and it almost ready to shoot. If it hadn't been for Caitlyn, Lux knew she would probably be dead, or at the very least, severely injured. Wiping her forehead from the sweat that had built up, she carefully got out of bed and made her way down the hall to the bathroom. Putting her hands on the counter, she looked at herself and tried again to come to grips with reality, but it was hard. After everything she had been through, that was probably the worst. The fact she kept waking up with the same nightmare wasn't helping. With a groan, she went back to bed, thankful it was weekend.

          The following morning found Janna and Poppy in the tower ready to practice and Lux was still not showing up, despite the fact it was almost noon. Powering down they both left and headed to her house.

          "Sorry girls. Lux is having a bad day. She got up the middle of the night again and couldn't fall back asleep until after the sun was up. Do either of you know what is going on? She hasn't been like this before."

          Poppy and Janna just exchanged glances, and knowing exactly what was going on and not being able to say it was probably killing all three of them. Especially after what happened in the last fight, both of them knew that Lux would take time to get over it, but the fact she still wasn't sleeping was definitely worrying.

          "Sorry, but we don't. She isn't talking to us about it. Hopefully she'll get over it in time." Janna said, trying to keep her voice from betraying themselves.

          "I hope so. Because this can't keep going on. Maybe the aftermath from all of those attacks she's been exposed to are finally hitting. I know just about every therapist in the city is booked solid. Maybe once she gets up, I can have her meet you guys somewhere where she can talk to."

          "We'll try. But we can't make any promises. We'll be at the library once she gets up." Poppy said as they both turned away and headed back down the front walk and back to the tower.

          Lux meanwhile was at the top of the stairs and listened to the whole conversation. In the back of her mind, she knew they were right and she needed to talk to someone, but apart from Nasus, Poppy, Janna, and Vel'Koz, she had no one to talk to. If she told anyone in her family, they would go crazy and even Amy couldn't be trusted. Anyone she told outside their little circle would be in danger, or they wouldn't believe her which would be even worse.

          Making her way back down the hall to the bathroom, Lux knew that she had a job to do and it was one she accepted. Grabbing her brush, she ran it through her hair as she finally got ready for the day.

* * *

 

          "I still don't understand how she feels she can't talk to us." Poppy said, swinging her hammer into a training dummy that Nasus was guarding. Rolling, Poppy got another hit before he cut her off for a third.

          "Think about it Poppy. The only people she can talk to are right here. We are going through the same things. So yes, while we will understand, she needs to talk to someone else. Someone who isn't here fighting with us. The problem is that anyone she tells that isn't here won't understand, won't believe her, and will be put in danger either way." Janna replied as she kept Poppy shielded from Nasus' counter attacks while trying to get him in a twister.

          "Don't forget she is also the leader of the team. And that puts even more pressure on her. She thinks she don't wake us up when gets up the middle of the night, but we hear and see everything." Dorcha said from a nearby bench watching them.

          "The fact she also basically had a gun to her head probably isn't helping with that. Just give her time and if she comes to you to talk, just listen or even sit there." Nasus added as he again tried to pin Poppy between the wall and himself, and once again failed.

          "I know, but I just like a direct approach. I'm not good with waiting." Poppy said dodging out of the way again.

          "She just needs time. Maybe if you don't press it like you have been it might help." Solas suggested as he turned to keep following the engagement.

          "I guess." Poppy said as she landed a final hit on the dummy ending the exercise. She and Janna powered down while Nasus made his way downstairs. Lux still wasn't there, but she knew that it would be a matter of time before she said something. Janna looked at her phone to see a text from Lux saying she apologized for missing practice, but she needed a walk to clear her head. Janna smiled as that might help but privately she knew that the growing cold they all had been feeling over the last few days was coming to a head.

* * *

 

          On the river walk, Lux was just blending in with people and following the ebb and flow eventually coming to rest on a bench overlooking city hall and put her head in her hands. 'I can't continue to do this.' She again thought to herself as she gazed over the river. She felt the bench shift and saw a familiar face sitting there.

          "I didn't expect to see you here Lux. Something wrong?"

          "Just needed to clear my head." She replied.

          "You know you have mom and dad worried about you right?" Garen said turning to his younger sister.

          "I know, but this is something I have to sort out on my own." Lux said with her voice becoming a bit raised.

          "I understand that, and they do as well, but Lux what is it that you can't tell us? They are worried about bad. Now I know you better, but honestly, if there is something that you don't want to tell them, you can tell me. You know I care about you. Even if I'm bad at showing it at times." Garen put his arm around his sister and she just put her head on his shoulder.

          The thoughts that were racing through Lux's head were too numerous to count. She knew that if she told Garen, he would indeed keep it a secret, but that would also put him in danger. Deciding that she couldn't keep hiding something, she thought for a bit about how to word it carefully to avoid anything coming back to her, Janna, or Poppy and finally shifted and Garen took his arm back.

          "I guess I can say something. I have a friend, someone you don't know very well. They has a lot of responsibility on their shoulders and recently dealt with a near death experience. It seems to be compounding the problem and while all of these recent attacks haven't done much for my well being, they were almost crushed by a building in the last attack."

          "I see. Well, honestly you are a good friend by being there for them, but you can't let their problems rub off on you. You are doing a lot by just being there. But if you let their problems become yours then you aren't helping them, you are just making it worse for yourself. I have to meet Jayce and others for a game, but again if you feel like talking again, just let me know." Garen got up and after giving Lux a pat on the shoulder, she got up and gave him a hug. Smiling, Garen walked away thinking he had helped. In reality, he didn't help as much as he thought he did.

          It was as Lux sat back down did a wave of cold wash over her. Knowing the void surfaced again, she quickly grabbed her phone to see where it was. Neither Janna or Poppy said anything, but given its power, she knew it was close. On top of that the screaming coming from further down the river was all she needed to go and find a secluded spot. Finally finding one, she grabbed her locket. "Star Guardian Power Up." Transformed, Lux ran right to the source of the commotion.

          In the middle of the intersection there was a crazy snake stopping cars and pulling people out of them. "Your energy for the void." It said, pulling yet another driver out. Lux waited for the creature to drop him before lashing out with her binding. Connecting, she threw a few bolts from her baton as she leaped out of the tree she was hiding in and landed carefully on the pavement.

          "Seriously, you guys just don't get any less ugly. Now stop all of this. I am a Star Guardians you crazy monster. Sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you."

          "My master said you would say that. Now you are all alone so you can't be trying to distract me. So I'll just bite you for your energy guardian." No sooner than the creature moved did it hit with another binding as Lux was more than prepared for it. Throwing a singularity, Lux kept moving and tiring out the creature while she dodged around it.

          Just down the street, Poppy, Janna, and Debonair were racing to the fight, but stopped short as they saw how Lux was going on her own. They all looked at each other and fanned out to surround the creature. It was clear Lux had a bone to pick, and they weren't going to interfere. Lux noticed this as she threw yet another singularity, which detonated in the creature's face. Now clearly enraged, it moved to attack Janna, who just flung a twister at it while Lux moved in with a few bolts from her baton and a binding to make sure it stayed rooted. Knowing what was coming, Janna moved out of the way.

          Lux focused her powers and threw her baton in the air. "Final Spark." With a beam of light, the monster was quickly nothing more than dust and what little energy it had managed to collect was quickly smashed by Poppy, who seemed to be upset that she didn't get in on the fighting. Lux turned to see Debonair gone and Janna and Poppy coming over to her.

          "Nice plays. You still have it in you huh?" Poppy said, giving Lux a playful jab in the hip, which resulted in Lux almost falling down. Catching herself at the last minute, she turned to smile.

          "I guess. I know I should have waited but something told me to go."

          "Don't apologize, you managed to stop it before it got worse. Now can we get out of here before the police…or not. Run!" Janna said looking over Lux's shoulder. Lux and Poppy turned and sprinted off after Janna who lead them on a roundabout route to the Tower. Once they were back, they all powered down and Lux took a seat at the table.

          "You still up for some practice?" Poppy asked Janna and Lux.

          "Give us a few minutes Poppy, but sure." Janna said, turning to Lux. She nodded in reply.

* * *

 

          In her nest, Rek'Sai was fuming. She didn't get anything from the last voidling and she knew she was going to pay for that. Dearly. Pacing around, she struggled to come up with something to excuse her actions and what happened but it wasn't until she was pacing around so lost in through that she rammed into the wall, did it occur to her. Smiling, she quickly set off to the moon.

          Malzahar's throne room was always intimidating, but Rek'Sai knew that she would have something that would at least not get Malzahar so angry. Stepping into the room, she noticed everyone around, and Cho'Gath licking his lips. Smiling at the enormous voidling, she turned to Malzahar.

          "Rek'Sai your last engagement was a complete disappointment. You failed to get anything out of it. So what do you have to say for yourself?" He roared.

          "Oh great prophet. I do have something that is of interest. It actually wouldn't have been possible to see it without the failure."

          "Oh this will be good. In failing you discover something to make it worthwhile" Cho'Gath said. Laughing as he did so.

          "Indeed Rek'Sai, he does have a point. What did you find?" Malzahar was actually looking with interest. Maybe there was something.

          "Well as you know, the lead guardian showed up before the others. In fact she was fighting long before the others even showed up. For just about every fight after other Guardians were discovered, they have always shown up together. This time they didn't. In fact, you could call her actions reckless." Rek'Sai let that hang for a second while looking around. Malzahar looked pleasantly surprised. Cho'Gath was clearly impressed with her reasoning. Kha'Zix nodded with approval. Kog"Maw was sniffing around for something to eat, but nodded as Rek'Sai turned her gaze to him. The Herald also nodded in approval.

          Knowing she had them, Rek'Sai didn't waste another second. "I believe she is still suffering from that near death experience from Unia. Even in death she still does damage. Now that guardian will continue to make reckless decisions and when the time is right, we strike. Eliminate her fellow guardians, then that idiot who keeps coming around. She will be alone, and then we eliminate them one by one."

          Malzahar was usually extremely difficult to read in situations like this, but his face cracked with a smile. "Excellent plan Rek'Sai. Until then, you have to do something to keep her off guard. We can't risk more attacks right now so I suggest you do some lifting and collect some energy. Not much. Just enough to draw them out and force this streak."

          "I shall begin tomorrow. Attacking again today would be a tactical misstep." Rek'Sai responded walking for the door as she finished."

          Malzahar watched her leave and the throne room empty out. Turning to Cho'Gath, his smile fell a little.

          "Concerns Prophet?" Cho'Gath asked seeing his face.

          "Indeed. She needs to be extremely careful. She goes too hard, the guardian will get the sense knocked back into her. Too soft, and she will realize what is going on. It has to be a careful balancing act. I don't doubt Rek'Sai can handle it, but it's more about timing than anything."

          "Is there anything we can do to help?" Cho'Gath asked.

          Malzahar turned to Cho'Gath with a questioning gaze. An offer of help from his wasn't ever without entanglements. Malzahar was not going to let Cho'Gath sabotage someone else, at least not without his approval, but considering the options before him, and the situation they were in, any "help" was only going to be detrimental. "I think if she is to fail, she should fail on her own. After all, one way or the other, if you get involved and she fails, then you would be held responsible as well. Maybe more so depending on how I feel about things turned out."

          "On that note, I will take my leave then." Cho'Gath walked out, but Malzahar knew that he would probably try something and made a note to keep an eye on him. Rek'Sai's plan was good, but it also one that wouldn't succeed with interference. Whether that interference be helpful or detrimental. He knew that he might be helping the guardians in the process, but it was a risk he would have to take.

          "This situation gets more complicated by the minute." Malzahar left his throne room to make sure Cho'Gath didn't interfere.

* * *

 

          "This situation just doesn't get any less complicated." Lux said in frustration as they watched Vel'Koz study the remains of the last seeker. "How can they be getting stronger when they have less time to…um grow?"

          "Simple. Their size and power is relative to the person itself. If they are pouring all of their energy into whatever drives them, then it is easy for them to get stronger faster." Lux just put her head down as a response. "I'm sorry but whoever Rek'Sai has targeted next will have to be spotted as quickly as possible." Lux just groaned, while Poppy and Janna rolled their eyes. Their practice had gone well, but they both noticed Lux's reckless streak and they knew it wouldn't end soon. They had to bring her down or it would cost them in the next fight.

          "Well either way, I'm not sensing anything right now, so perhaps we should at least get a good night of sleep. After all, we do have school tomorrow." Janna said trying to defuse the situation and perhaps get Lux out of the slump she was in. Clearly it wasn't working as her frustration was showing as she was the first one out while Janna and Poppy were slow to leave.

          "She's going to get us all in trouble with that attitude." Poppy said, once she was clear that Lux was out of the building.

          "I know, but that fight really affected her. We have to be careful since I'm sure Rek'Sai noticed it during the last fight. We have to watch her and keep an eye on the situation. I know we are probably going to do something, but if she doesn't snap herself out of this, we can't. She has to sort it out herself." Janna replied. The amount of worry in her voice wasn't lost on Poppy however.

          "I know, but I'm worried about her. I worry about my friends, but I'm even more worried when my butt is on the line too." Poppy said with both worry and frustration in her voice. "You sure there is nothing we can do?"

          "No. this is something she has to overcome herself. If we try and help, we aren't going to help. We'll just do more damage in the long run." Janna said as she hung her head.

          "We'll try to keep an eye on her during the day tomorrow and while she sleeps, but there is also only so much we can do. This really hit her hard and she needs both your support, your understanding, and her space." Dorcha said as she noticed the looks of helpless between the two Guardians.

          "Yeah. We'll do our best, but honestly she just needs time." Solas said.

          "My worry is how much time. Again, we'll just have to watch her. For now, let's just go home." Janna said as she reached for her bag. Poppy just nodded as a reply and they both grabbed their bags and headed out.

          Lux's mind was on overdrive as she quickly found herself jogging home. Arriving home a lot earlier than she expected, Lux went to her room and after putting down her bag, she did something she rarely did. She turned right around, and after changing into shorts, she left again and decided a run might just tire her out enough to have a peaceful night's sleep. After running for an hour, she came home, ate dinner, and was asleep before she knew it.

          Dorcha and Solas were keeping watch over her during the evening and what they noticed wasn't helping them at all. She was still thrashing about in her sleep and they turned to each other.

          "Let me try something." Dorcha hopped onto Lux's bed and curled up right next to her arm. Within a few seconds, Lux shifted to bring her other arm on top of Dorcha and after a few seconds, it moved to be next to her. Solas, seeing something, hopped down and settled down next to Dorcha and they both knew that if this stopped the trashing at least, she might have better dreams.

          The following morning saw Lux miss her alarm and Dorcha and Solas doing nothing to get her to move. They knew that her mother would take care of that.

          "Luxanna get up you are going to be late! Again!" Almost jumping out of bed, Lux turned to the clock and groaned. Dorcha and Solas settled back down and stayed out of her way but before they knew it, Lux was already dressed and sprinting out the door with her bag on her shoulder. Dorcha and Solas sprinted off after her and managed to get into her bag as she stopped briefly to grab something to eat on the way.

          On the way to school, Janna walked behind Lux at a distance to observe her and noticed that her pace was faster than normal, but Janna saw Amy approach and Lux almost stopped to wait for her friend. Janna smiled a bit as she maintained her distance.

          "Lux! Come on girl. You haven't responded to me all weekend. I'm worried about you." Amy out of the corner of her eye noticed Janna, but decided to keep that to herself. "And I'm sure I'm not the only one. What's going on?"

          "Sorry. Just a lot of stress right now and I'm not sleeping very well." Lux replied coming to a stop. When she started walking again with Amy, her pace was noticeably slower. "I can't see to get a good night's sleep lately. Last night was better, but still having a similar dream again and again."

          "Feel like talking about it? You are clearly holding something back." Amy said as she poked Lux in the shoulder.

          Lux just smiled. "It's just during that last major fight, not the one in the park yesterday the previous one. I was almost crushed by some debris and it is still bothering me. I guess I just can't let it go." Lux said. 'Well actually I was almost killed by a cannon to the face, but you can't know that' Lux thought privately to herself.

          "Look. You have to let it go. You had an experience and it is going to come back for a while. Just know you have friends who care about you. Now how about going to the mall after school to get your mind off everything. And that isn't a question and I won't take no for an answer."

          Lux just smiled and gave Amy a hug. "Thanks. I guess that wouldn't be a bad idea. But I have things…"

          "I said I'm not taking no for an answer and don't make me take your phone and call other friends and we will make you."

          Lux just sighed and smiled. "Fine. You win."

          "Good." Amy and Lux started walking towards school at a decent pace and Janna split off to get to her school.

          During the day, Lux's mind kept relaxing as she remembered the times before all of this started and she wasn't normal anymore. She kept looking around and noticed Amy keeping an eye on her all day. While she was in the halls and during lunch, Lux noticed Poppy doing the same thing. She knew they were going to watch her, but she also knew that none of them went through what she did and they had no idea what she was going through.

          After school, Lux and Amy went through the mall, but as the thoughts of the recent battle came rushing back, Lux found herself putting on a convincing face to fool Amy, but she knew that Amy knew her heart wasn't in it. She kept her act until they parted and even then Lux found it hard to resist that she didn't have fun. Walking into her room, she sat in the chair near her computer, and just did nothing.

          "Dorcha? You there?" Lux asked as the poro emerged.

          "I'm here. What is it?"

          "How do you transfer powers?" The statement took Dorcha aback.

          "It is a complicated process, but a viable candidate has to be found first. Until then, you have to live up to what you agreed to do." Dorcha said, keeping her voice steady, but in her own mind, she knew that Lux hit the wall that most Guardians do at one point or another. Usually.

          "I guess I really didn't know what I was signing up for all that time ago did I? I miss being normal and having to worry about this every minute."

          "Lux just because you are the leader, doesn't mean you don't have support. Solas, Janna, Zephyr, Poppy, Vel'Koz, Nasus, and I are all here to help you. You are not alone in this fight." Dorcha's voice now betrayed her fear and worry.

          Lux turned her chair and looked carefully at the poro on her bed. Making a move over movement with her hand, Dorcha jumped aside and Lux just fell into bed. Dorcha nudged up to Lux and hoped that her presence would calm the young Guardian. As Solas came in, he saw what was going on, and nudged up next to Lux as well.

          Poppy and Janna were not far either. Outside Lux's house, they were keeping a careful eye on her. Knowing that she was in dire straits wasn't helping their situation especially when they knew that another attack would be sooner rather than later. Zephyr hopped down from Lux's bedroom and settled on Janna's shoulder.

          "She's sleeping. Dorcha and Solas are next to her and hopefully it will be enough to keep her calm, but that really affected her more than I thought it would. She's in a bad area and the problem is that she will have to find her own way out. We can't help her at this point but to be there when she is ready." Both Janna and Poppy just nodded and headed off to their residences.

* * *

 

          That night, Rek'Sai was carefully moving through the city looking for the perfect target. Eventually sensing a large energy presense, she moved towards it. Unburrowing was a risk, even in a protected area, but she knew she had to risk it. What she saw, would delight her. It was a festival that would open the next day. Noticing the rather large structure on the edge, she moved closer.

          "Be careful with all of that would you? If we move it too much then we risk upsetting everything."

          "Yeah yeah I know."

          "Sure Jack. Sure you do."

          "Andrew can it. I'm doing my best."

          "Just remember, that it is my job to fix anything you break, and to then run it tomorrow. I'd rather not be here all night." Rek'Sai noticed that the one on the ground, Jack, would be the one running the structure, so she decided to look inside once they were all gone.

          Patience wasn't something that voidlings had been known for, but she knew that the time would be worth it. The energy coming off this guy was incredible and she had to capture it, and anything else in her way. After another two hours, they all finally left and the site was ready. Rek'Sai carefully moved about and once inside the structure, she was delighted. It would be the perfect trap for their little terrified guardian. She could easily twist this with the right seeker and that is what she set out to accomplish. Tracking down Jack wasn't hard, and once she was in position, placed her seeker to let it grow overnight.

          "Bad dreams." Rek'Sai said as she moved to her nest to wait for the next day where she might finally break one of the guardians. Permanently.

* * *

 

          The following saw Lux, Janna, and Poppy waking up with a shiver of cold. All three of them knew that a seeker was active, but if anything, it just caused Lux to settle back into her bed. Dorcha and Solas had kept a careful eye on Lux all night, but they were still worried. More so when she didn't get out of bed and just turned around and curled back up.

          They quickly pretend to be just waking up as Lux's mom popped her head inside and noticed Lux still asleep. She sighed and decided to call Lux out. Seeing the two poros however made her roll her eyes as Dorcha and Solas quickly looked at her with the classic faces and she grabbed the two of them and brought them downstairs for some food.

          Janna was worried when she didn't see Lux on her morning walk to school. She texted Poppy to see if she would be in class but what Janna saw next made her spirits sink even more. Amy was looking around for Lux but just continued walking as she saw that Lux clearly wasn't coming. Janna moved quickly to catch up.

          "Amy right?" Janna asked finally catching up.

          "Yeah. You're Janna right? Have you heard from Lux? We usually walk to school together but she is a no show this morning." Amy replied.

          "No. I was hoping you saw her." Janna said trying to keep her voice from betraying her panic.

          "She and I went to the mall yesterday, but it was clear her heart wasn't in it. She knows how to put on a brave face, but it still wasn't enough. I've known her for years, and I've never seen her like this. Know anything that I don't?" Amy turned to Janna properly with a face that betrayed her genuine worry. Janna had to think for a second on how to word it before she responded. Deciding to say nothing however was the best option.

          "Nothing. She isn't talking much after the last attack. I think something happened, but she isn't talking. I was hoping you would know more, but I guess not. We'll just have to be there when she is ready." Janna said, being very careful with her voice and with what she said.

          "I guess. Hopefully she will come around. It's odd since a cooler day like this would normally cause her to be much more active." Amy ended on that and headed inside. Janna saw Poppy who just shrugged as she followed her in. Janna looked at her watch and carefully set off to her own school, coming up with a late excuse along the way.

          Lux for her part didn't get out of bed until almost noon and immediately regretted it. Seeing Dorcha and Solas sleeping, she carefully got dressed and headed out. Felling the cold around, Lux knew that it would be a bad idea to go by herself in search of the source, but she knew that if she didn't do something soon, she would never get over that lingering fear she kept having to deal with. She set off on a search of the city to find the source.

          However, as much as she tried to get away unnoticed, Dorcha and Solas noticed her departure, and quickly took off after Lux, following her at a distance. Knowing that at any time, they might have to get Janna and Poppy to assist Lux, they kept apart from each other as well so that at least one of them would get out and get the others. Lux was clearly on a mission and all three of them kept following the cold, until they got to the festival grounds.

          "Well here we go. Whatever it is, it's coming from in there. Now shut it down before it gets worse." Lux said to herself and walked in. Despite the fact it was a school day, there were a lot of people there. Lux was able to blend in a lot easier than she thought she would. While she looked forward to this every year, she was here on a mission. As she walked around, the cold was almost paralyzing. She somehow managed to keep a straight face and keep from shivering as she eventually came across the core.

          Lux noticed the funhouse, which she had really just outgrown but it was almost like a freezer near it for her. Knowing the seeker and possibly Rek'Sai would be looking out for someone shivering with cold, she kept it together, if only just. Lux kept an eye on the guy running it and he was unusually aggressive getting people inside, but she noticed they came out again, if a bit more relaxed or drained.

          "She's only taking a bit with every group. Clever. That means that this seeker isn't very strong. But I can't transform in there. So I'll have to do it out here and then rush in. I also can't create a scene. Great what to do?" Lux said quietly to herself as she continued to pace around the festival. She could hear the seeker calling to more and he almost seemed hypnotic as more people kept going. Eventually an idea hit her and quickly looked around but realized she left it back in her room. Sprinting home, she grabbed the masking bracelet and then running back to the festival.

          Running her hand across the bracelet, it lit up and signaled it was ready. "Transform me into a safety inspector." Once she regained her senses, Lux looked and it was very convincing. Walking towards the funhouse, the seeker turned to look at her, and it was clear that it wasn't expecting this.

          "Park Service Department. I'm here to do an inspection." Lux said as she came up. It was clear that there was already an inspection but she stood her ground, despite being almost frozen from the cold.

          "We've had an inspection already now I have a job to do so…"

          "So there were a few issues with the first one. Now either I can do my job or I shut you down. Take your pick. You think I'd rather be enjoying this rather than doing this?" Lux was surprised at how that came out but her face and voice didn't betray her nerves.

          "Fine. Just do it quickly. Need privacy?" Clearly it suspected something. Lux knowing the host was probably not aware of what was going on, tried to keep this from being too confined.

          "No. It shouldn't take long. I'll get started and get out of your hair quickly." And with that she walked inside before it could ask another question. Moving around the house, it was clear the operation was in full swing, but she also had to find the heart and shut down the collection apparatus.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile Dorcha and Solas, knowing what was coming, quickly headed to get Poppy and Janna and after pulling a few tricks, they managed to get them out of class. Meeting up at a grove of trees Dorcha and Solas caught their breath before talking to the two Guardians.

          "Lux found the source of the cold. It's the funhouse at the festival. It seems like Rek'Sai is drawing a little energy from every person that walks in. Clever, but Lux isn't going to let her get away with this. Transform quickly and get there."

          "Right." The two pulled their pendants. "Star Guardian Power Up!"

          "Let's go." Janna said and with Poppy almost jump running behind her, they made for the festival.

* * *

 

          Back at the festival, Lux was still looking for the heart and "making notes" on the clipboard that the bracelet had given her. Lux knew she couldn't keep it up for much longer, and just as she was about to admit defeat, she opened another door and in the middle of the room was the collector. Reaching for her locket, she knew what she had to do.

          "So my suspicions were right." Lux turned and readied. "I thought I sensed a guardian. My mistress told me to be ready for you, but you are alone. And while your powers shield your identity. I can fix that."

          "No you can't. Star Guardian Power Up!" Lux felt the power rush through her again as she transformed. The bracelet would allow her to transform without revealing her true identity, but it couldn't help her in a fight.

          "Well then, let's battle." With that the seeker showed its true form. Erupting from its host its body was almost a jumbled mess as it looked like it was from a glitched computer game. "Well then. Let's go." And it charged.

          Lux dodged the attack but was quickly hit from behind by its arm which extended. Lux hit the wall with some force and realized this would be a tough fight since its powers seemed to bend reality, like the funhouse and how it played with perception. "I hope you brought backup guardian because you will need it" and with that the seeker sprinted out of the room. Lux took a quick look but only seeing the collector, she knew the orbs were elsewhere but there was a bigger problem. She checked on the seeker's host, and after seeing he was still alive, but unconscious, dashed off after the seeker.

          Lux immediately knew that trying to follow it was a mistake since it had clearly warped the funhouse to suit it. Constantly looking everywhere for the next attack, she was being kept on her toes. Especially after a quick series of blows tripped her, then hit her into a wall. Lux quickly regained her footing only to be hit again and knocked back down.

          "Foolish girl. You come alone to face me."

          "You underestimate me." Lux said and threw a binding and singularity which the seeker dodged by manipulating its body. Lux, undeterred, kept going after it with a few bolts from her baton, which did connect. "Eventually I will win."

          "I doubt that young one. I have defeated countless before you. Now it is your turn." The seeker said, rearticulating its body to dodge more.

          "So you say." Lux threw more bolts, which while missing, allowed her binding and more bolts to hit. "I'm not completely helpless as you presume."

          "So it would seem. Then follow me." The binding wore off and the seeker darted out of the room. Lux followed quickly not thinking about getting backup from Janna or Poppy. The only thing going through her head was to win and show everyone she was just fine.

          Entering yet another room, Lux was almost thrown dizzy by it. Clearly the seeker was warping reality and it used Lux's immediately uneasiness to get in another series of blows, once again knocking Lux down. Quickly regaining her footing, Lux threw her abilities again and she was still only connecting just barely for any damage. The seeker for its part, knew that it was just a little bit longer before she would make a mistake and then he would have her.

* * *

 

          Outside, there was a little sense of panic as the police had surrounded the funhouse as soon as the seeker closed it and followed Lux inside. Janna, Poppy, and Debonair who had met up with them along the way sprinted into the festival grounds and were quickly let through the perimeter to deal with the monster. "Ok everyone, stick together and don't get separated. If we can guess anything it is probably using reality bending powers to fight." Janna said as they walked up the stairs.

          "What makes you think that?" Poppy asked as Janna threw open the door. "Oh nevermind." Poppy added as she saw the initial hallway was clearly warped. "Great this will be fun. How we will find our companion?"

          A loud crash from somewhere inside caught their attention. "I'd say, follow those sounds." Debonair said and they all quickly headed inside.

* * *

 

          Lux meanwhile was making headway against the seeker, who was still holding back its full power. After landing a few abilities, Lux through she was ready. Focusing her powers, she readied for her Spark. Seeing its opportunity at last, the seeker reached out and bound Lux tightly.

          "Finally. I thought you would never try. I hope you realized that I was holding back our whole fight. I have never attacked you with my full strength. Your last fight showed something. You were being reckless and she knew how to take advantage of that. Now against the rest of your team and that annoying other one, I wouldn't stand a chance, but against you alone. I knew I could survive and win. You see, you are so predictable and you never even called for help. How sad."

          Lux tried to escape his grasp, but after just wiggling a bit, she knew it was hopeless. That feeling once again set it, and she knew that he was right. She was alone, and it was all her fault. He was also right that she wasn't in this fight alone, but instead of waiting for help, she just charged headlong into the fight. Lux just hung her head in defeat.

          "There we go. That look of defeat is what I waited for."

          "There will be another. There will always be another." Lux said picking her head back up. Still defiant, she wouldn't let her face betray her feelings again.

          "I'm sure, but how long will it take for them to rise up? A day? A month? A year? Longer? Who knows. All I know is that with you out of the way, our job will be easier. Now I will end you, once and for all." A large spike emerged from end of one of the arms encircling her, and Lux just prepared herself for the end.

          Suddenly an eruption of energy hit the seeker who, in shock, released Lux and stumbled back in pain. Lux didn't managed to catch herself before hitting the ground hard. Looking up, she saw Janna, Poppy, and Debonair standing in the room with her. Lux smiled and knew that the seeker was right about another thing, they were stronger together and that her friends knew exactly what she was going through. They all faced it, just in different ways.

          "Well it seems that we have some uninvited guests. No matter, your leader is too weak to continue to fight. So how about the three of us dance?"

          "You were right about a lot of things, but you are overlooking one thing about Star Guardians?" Lux said from the ground as she hadn't picked herself up just yet, but her hand closed tightly on her baton.

          "Oh and what is that? That you were reckless?" The seeker laughed at its own joke.

          "Yes I was reckless, but in your arrogance, you forgot something important as did I. Guardians only get stronger when they are all together. Now!" Lux threw a singularity while jumping up. Janna threw a twister, Poppy threw her buckler ahead of her, and Debonair charged up another shot. All four hit and Poppy then knocked the seeker back into the wall.

          Clearly caught off guard, the seeker lashed out at Lux, but only connected with Lux's barrier, while Poppy brought her hammer down on the seeker's arm. Roaring in pain, the seeker turned to Poppy only to connect with Janna's barrier and then Poppy's and Debonair's hammers as they both knocked it back into yet another wall.

          A loud crack was heard and suddenly the room almost returned to normal. "You destroyed my eye. Now I will destroy you." The seeker lashed out again, but found that its reality bending powers were gone. "No matter. I can still defeat you all the old fashioned way." The seeker transformed its arms into spikes and lashed out at Poppy and Debonair, who quickly dodged around them, while Zephyr clamped on slowing the seeker down, and Lux threw a binding.

          "This ends now." Lux once again charged up her powers. "Final Spark!" She threw every last ounce of anger and frustration into the beam resulting in one more dusted seeker. "Now for the orbs."

          "Oh you won't get them. I almost had you guardian, but you put up a good fight. Until next time." Rek'Sai's voice echoed through the house, and they all knew she got away with the energy.

          "Come on. Let's go." Lux said as they exited the funhouse. Debonair separated and headed out a back exit while the three Guardians headed out the front. Still seeing the police out there, Lux for the first time noticed her injuries. While she wasn't bleeding, she was clearly bruised. They all looked up to see Vi was walking towards them.

          "Well you three have managed to solve yet another problem. However, just a suggestion." Vi turned directly to Lux. "Don't go off on your own. You have a team, and you all work well together. You may be the leader, but you have to leave by example. I'm not a good example of that, but you seem to have a grasp on it. Don't lose it. Now go. I'll clean this up and get the guy to the hospital."

          "Thanks. I'll remember that." Lux said and after nodding to Janna and Poppy, they all took off for a cliff overlooking the city. Once there, they all just sat on some rocks near the edge and overlooked the city. They all sat there for some time before Lux started talking.

          "Well she was right." Janna and Poppy turned to Lux. "I was an idiot. I thought I could do it all myself, and that I had to do it all myself. That I needed to prove myself to you two and everyone else. How wrong I was. I almost got myself killed and for what? Because I was stupid. I know you two are going through the same things that I am and that each of you are dealing with the same things. I'm sorry." Lux hung her head and a few tears slipped out of her eyes.

          Janna and Poppy moved to the same rock that Lux was sitting and put their arms around her. "Just don't forget, we are here for you. And we aren't going anywhere." Janna said.

          "Yeah. You said it. We are stronger together. And together, we are unbeatable. Sure we may fall down a bit, get a few bruises, and the like, but we always come out on top. And once we get the full team together. We will be unstoppable." Poppy said. She held herself from giving Lux a punch in the side.

          "Yeah. Let's just wait for that day. Until then. We will do our best. And we will get better and better." Lux finished and she lifted her head and looked at the sky. It was a beautiful sunny day and that also gave her hope.

* * *

 

          Meanwhile on the moon Rek'Sai was before Malzahar. "While the scenario didn't work out the way we wanted it to, you did get a sizable amount of energy. And you almost truly eliminated a guardian. Only the timely arrival of her teammates prevented that from being carried out. You failed to plan for that."

          "Understood prophet. Somehow she communicated or someone communicated. I will work to discover the source and eliminate it."

          "Do not bother. That is irrelevant. Focus on collecting energy and getting rid of those Guardians. We keep expending a lot of energy trying to get more. And we have to stop doing that. Your haul today gives us a net positive, but we can't afford to keep up this pace."

          "Understood. I will find something to draw in a large amount of energy with minimal output."

          "Then go." Malzahar knew that Rek'Sai did well but she also missed a key area that would have stopped a problem from getting worse. Now everything they had done had to be accelerated. Malzahar turned to see the large world of Runeterra reflected in a pedestal. "Sooner or later, you will be mine."

 

* * *

 

          On the hilltop, Lux, Janna, and Poppy finally powered down and headed home. Knowing there would be some explaining to their parents, but they were ready for that. That night, after the long discussions, they all enjoyed their best nights of sleep in a while. Even Lux who had her first night of real sleep in a week.

 


	17. The Hunt is On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the events of the last week finally settled, the Guardians are finally able to breathe again. However, there will be no rest as Rek'Sai is cooking up another plan, and this one will be focused on one thing, finding the Guardians. Can Lux, Janna, and Poppy keep their identities a secret and still be able to protect their families and friends?

          "With the numerous Star Guardian sightings around, how do we know they are really fighting for us? We don't know who they are and they are constantly showing up after something has started and not before. If we don't know who they are, then I say we can't trust them. I mean look at the damage they have caused. They do not seem to care for collateral damage."

          "And are you saying the police would be better? Look at what they have done. How can you keep saying that?"

          Lux turned the TV off as she rolled her eyes again. Allison Harper had come out of nowhere and started harping on all of her work. She kept poking at them, clearly trying to get a response, but she, Janna, and Poppy were able to resist the jabs. Except it was getting harder in recent days since there hadn't been an attack or anything to keep their minds off of it. As Lux turned the TV back on and flipped to another channel, Garen walked in.

          "Please tell me you aren't watching the news." Garen said. 

          "I just turned it off. I can't stand that woman. She just doesn't like the Guardians and isn't being shy about it. I mean, I've had a lot of…experiences near them but I don't hate them." She said as she passed the remote unable to find anything. 'It's also hard to hate yourself and your friends. I think.' She added to herself as an afterthought.

          "I guess. I mean it's clear that they are trying to help. So where she gets off on this rampage is beyond me. Anyway, game shows?" Garen asked as he settled on a channel.

          "Huh? Oh sure." Lux just relaxed back into the couch, for two reasons. One to make herself look relaxed. The other is because her muscles still hurt from the training secession she, Janna, and Poppy put themselves through. All of them went home sore so Lux just figured to relax on the couch. Getting a snack delivered was just a bonus.

          On her end, Janna just relaxed on her computer watching videos and catching up an TV show since the prospect of laying on her bed might just put her out. And she didn't want to do that. Yet. She was still moving gingerly even a few hours later. Being at her computer still allowed her to bluff her parents into thinking she was doing homework and got lunch delivered. She was thinking of pushing dinner, but decided against it, especially once she smelled what her dad was cooking.

          Poppy meanwhile was following Lux's example of relaxing and watching TV. Except she was in a nice lounge chair. Poppy enjoyed the time but kept thinking about the homework she was backed up on but she just couldn't move. Normally she was perfectly fine after a secession where Lux and Janna were spent, but today was an exception. She was just as tired as the others and given how hard they went it wasn't surprising. Eventually she summoned the energy to get to her room and get the work done.

          Nasus was seated in Vel'Koz's office and was working on his second large bottle of water. "Was it that bad?" Vel'Koz asked.

          "No it was good. They were just going hard as can be today. I don't know why. Perhaps frustration but whatever it was, they were going really in overdrive. They all left exhausted. So can I take the rest of the day off?" Nasus replied turning to Vel'Koz.

          "Sure. I think though we won't be in the dark for much longer. I have a feeling that we will be dealing with something before long. Rek'Sai has been quiet for too long. She has either been up to something or she has been planning something. Oh I thought I turned that garbage off." Vel'Koz quickly grabbed the remote and shut the TV off as Allison Harper reappeared. "She's really getting me pissed. How can she not trust the team?"

          "Simple. She doesn't like secrets and everything about those three is secret." Nasus replied as he grabbed another water. Vel'Koz thought carefully about what he said and realized he was probably right, but the fact she came out of nowhere was also a bit concerning.

* * *

 

          As the day ended, Allison Harper left the news station and made her way outside of town. Once she was there, she found a secluded cave and went inside.

          "So how's the investigation going?" Asked a voice.

          "Well enough. This host isn't even resisting me very much. I have looked at as much as I can with regards to the previous attacks but I can't get a viable idea who our problems could be with."

          Rek'Sai emerged from the shadows and moved right in front of Allison. "Well that doesn't help us out. I have invested a lot into this operation so what do we need then?"

          "Another attack. I might be able to track the Guardians as they are leaving or something else that relates to them. You just need to be careful with it because cause too much chaos, I can't track them."

          "Very well. I have an idea, but you have to be ready tomorrow. I will get the seeker started tonight. Now go to her residence before suspicion arouses."

          "Yes ma'am." Allison turned and left while Rek'Sai exited the cave and burrowed under the surface. Rek'Sai already had a target picked out, but she was hoping that she could have saved it for after this but apparently that wasn't an option. Making her way to the residence of a salesman who was always aggressive with his stand in the mall. Knowing that Kha'Zix had attacked that place a couple of times made it risky, but she saw little choice. After planting her seeker, she quickly made her way back to her cave to prepare for the following day. Even if she didn't get what she wanted from the attack, she might at least get some energy to take back.

* * *

 

          The following day saw the Guardians planning to take a rest day, but as they all woke up with a chill on an otherwise warm day, they knew that their rest day would have to wait. Lux was the first to be up fully and after poking Dorcha and Solas awake, headed for the tower.

          "What's the situation?" She asked walking in to see Vel'Koz hovering over a new map. "New map?"

          "New program. With how Rek'Sai does her attacks, it isn't enough to just track small temperature drops. I've fine tuned the system to detect a very localized temperature drop, which is what we are looking for. And it appears to be working." Vel'Koz pointed a tentacle at a building that Lux knew only too well.

          "The mall? Again? That place doesn't get a break does it?" She sighed.

          "Not really. But there is another problem. I'm tracking three different types of temperature drops. One big one, probably the seeker." Vel'Koz said.

          "Makes sense." Lux said, looking at the map.

          "The second is a smaller but almost just as big. It might be a second seeker. Rek'Sai might be going for another 2v1 and that seeker is keeping itself hidden." Vel'Koz said as he examined the map.

          "Great. And the third?" Lux asked.

          "Lots of smaller ones. I'm thinking the seeker imbued objects with its power to draw a lot of energy at once. There is one advantage, you three don't have school today. That might make whatever Rek'Sai's plan harder to pull off." Vel'Koz pointed out.

          "Assuming that is her plan. I don't know. She wouldn't go through all of this trouble without some reason." Lux said studying the readings from the mall.

          "Perhaps you are right. There must be something else. Be careful Guardian." Vel'Koz said. 

          "I will." Lux grabbed her bag and reached for her phone. Texting Janna and Poppy to meet her at the mall and she'd fill them in on what was going on.

          As Janna and Poppy arrived at the mall, Lux filled them in on what was going on and everything she had seen at the tower.

          "So do we have an idea who the seeker is possessing?" Janna asked. Lux just nodded over to a stand where the sales guy was going crazy. Janna rolled her eyes while Poppy suppressed a laugh.

          "Well normally we wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Give that creature some credit." Poppy said once she calmed down a bit. "We need to be careful. Wait who's that?" Poppy pointed to the second floor below them causing Lux and Janna to turn. Standing there was Allison Harper. Lux, Janna, and Poppy were immediately suspicious. Why would she be here? Especially when nothing had happened yet.

          "Let's keep an eye on her. Split up." Janna said. Lux and Poppy quickly split off to keep an eye on her while appearing to shop. Which for people their age, wasn't hard. Ms. Harper was walking around doing much of the same things, but she appeared to be following notes in her notebook. Janna was able to make the connection between the notebook and what was going on.

          'She just seems to be checking popular stores and where we have all shopped in the past. Along with every other teenager in the city.' She texted Lux and Poppy while keeping an eye on the reporter.

          'That still doesn't mean we shouldn't drop our guard. She's here and that concerns me.' Poppy texted back.

          'Agreed.' Lux responded. 'Find a place quickly!' She texted a second later. Janna and Poppy whirled around, along with everyone else. It seems that time was up and the three quickly took cover to find a place to transform. What they didn't notice is Allison taking up a position with a camera, clearly expecting the Guardians to transform in the thick of the crowd, but was disappointed when the three of them quickly surrounded the other seeker as the crowd collapsed around them.

          "Well that didn't work. I'll just have to follow them afterwards."

          Meanwhile, Lux, Janna, and Poppy noticed the crowd collapsing and Janna pulled a keychain from one of the people who passed out. 'Well at least it was obvious.'

          "Well it seems that even here no one can escape you three."

          "Enough you annoying seeker. You just ruined a perfectly good day." Lux said. 

          "Sorry, but it wasn't perfect. Now it is."

          "It was fine before. Now either stop this nonsense or surrender. We are the Star Guardians. Sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you."

          "Such a cute catch phrase. But it never does you anything does it?"

          "No it just distracts you. And everyone else." Lux replied. The seeker turned to see Poppy inches from its face. Poppy pinned the seeker into a wall and then got in a good hit with her hammer to be on the safe side. Janna quickly followed with a twister which seemed to a bit overdone as it blew the seeker through the glass roof and onto the solid roof. Lux, Poppy, and Janna, after checking on the status of the seeker's host, quickly followed. None of them noticed Allison perform the same jump as them onto the roof. She quickly took cover behind one of the many structures on the roof and watched.

          Janna quickly threw a twister to keep it immobile while Lux threw a singularity. Lux detonated it and threw a couple of bolts for good measure. Poppy got in a few more hits with the hammer before the seeker managed to get away from the trap it was caught in. Lux threw a binding to try and hold it down again, but missed, barely. The seeker managed another dodge, landing close to Allison, who had to quickly duck behind to avoid being spotted.

          Poppy charged again and while she missed, Lux didn't. Landing a binding, Lux threw a few bolts while Janna threw a twister and Poppy dived out of the way. Focusing her powers, Lux threw her baton in the air. "Final Spark." The beam lashed out and turned the seeker to dust. Lux landed gracefully back on the roof and Allison peaked out from around the corner. Ready with her camera to catch the three powering down.

          "Good job. Now let's get back." Lux said and they quickly jumped from the roof. Allison knew that it would be a problem to keep up with them, but decided to risk it. Reaching the edge, she saw the three carefully walking through the police barricade and from there they took off. Allison carefully picked her spots and tried to follow but quickly lost sight of them. Meanwhile she failed to noticed Dorcha and Solas nearby who were keeping a careful watch on her.

          Lux, Janna, and Poppy managed to make it back to the tower without getting followed by Allison who they lost quickly. The three powered down and grabbed things to eat and drink while they cooled down. They all knew there was another seeker out there and they all had a good idea what it was trying to do. They were all just waiting for Dorcha and Solas to confirm their suspicions. Both Nasus and Vel'Koz had joined them before Dorcha and Solas slid down their slide. They both just nodded.

          "It seems that Malzahar and/or Rek'Sai is stupider than they were when they left." Vel'Koz said after a brief moment.

          "It was that annoying reporter woman. She is clearly infected with a seeker because no one I know of can jump off a two story roof without sustaining some kind of injury." Dorcha said as she caught her breath.

          "It seems like she was going to try and follow you as you three powered down and from there, it would have been easy to figure out where you three live. Until she is dealt with, it complicates our mission. She will no doubt figure out your ages, as that isn't hard, but for everything else. You all have to be careful. One slip up and we could find ourselves in a very bad situation." Solas said as he looked between the three of them carefully.

          "That adds to our list of complications. But he is correct. Your powers protect you and your identities, but they do not protect your family or friends. If you are discovered, then there will be little you can do to protect them." Vel'Koz said with a very serious tone in his thought-speech.

          "Normally that wouldn't be an issue. Guardians join into the society and avoid making friends outside the team. There are no family and friends to protect outside the team and maybe a few local allies. Because of how everything worked out this time, we don't have that luxury. This is just an unusual situation but we can still work. I would even say that we have an advantage because of it." Janna said as she echoed Vel'Koz.

          Lux and Poppy both turned to their much more experienced teammate and nodded. They all knew that there would be tradeoffs with how they did things, but having a vested interest will probably work in their favor since they will fight harder, longer, and better if they have a vested interest.

          "Still though, we should be careful until she is dealt with, we should power down inside places we know are safe. As for your two" Lux continued turning to Dorcha and Solas, "keep an eye on her as best as you can. Don't blow your cover and if that means we miss something, we miss something." Dorcha and Solas just nodded in reply.

          "Everyone just keep an eye on her. She will probably be near our schools tomorrow trying to get anything about us. If you do get on camera, think before you speak. That includes me." Poppy finished reminding herself in the process. "In the meantime, let's head home. I think we could all use some time before tomorrow." Lux and Janna just nodded and they all grabbed their things and headed home.

          Once the three Guardians had left, Vel'Koz turned to Nasus. "Why didn't you say anything?"

v"Because everything that needed to be said had already been said. I was only here if something else needed to be said apart from the obvious. They said everything that I needed to. And don't forget we could protect their families, but not for long." He replied.

          "True, but if they knew that, it could cause their own problems. And even then, I'm sure they know that." Vel'Koz said, but even then there was a tone in his speech that said he was unsure with what he just said.

          "I'm sure they know that in an emergency situation we could shield them for a period of time but even that protection wouldn't last forever. Their own protection is better than anything any of us can offer them." Nasus said as he stood up. "I'll get back to my actual job now." With that, Nasus walked out and left Vel'Koz to his thoughts.

          That night was spent with the three Guardians tossing and turning in bed and Vel'Koz float pacing around the library. No one could really get a night's sleep or rest as they all expected to have to be dodging a crazy reporter all day. The following morning saw them a bit groggy but they all knew that missing a day of school would be a bad idea as it would make it obvious who they were. So they all resigned themselves to having a tired day.

          On her way to school, Lux waited for Amy at the usual location and their walk to school was filled with talk about the recent attack and who the Guardians might be. Well Amy was going on about that while Lux was trying to just ignore the obvious questions. Responding with simple answers she played up the oblivious person who was just tired after a weekend and didn't want to go back to school.

          "Lux are you even paying attention or not? I said what are the odds that we go to school with them?" Amy's ranting questions finally got the better of Lux and she finally started paying attention.

          "Well you've seen them you can probably guess their ages. As for your question, I'd say the odds aren't that good. I mean think about it. There are how many schools in the city?" Lux's mouth was able to form questions and thought patters she would have done before all of this, especially with her brain thinking about 15 other things. With number one being how to keep their identities a secret.

          "Even as groggy as you are, how can you still process everything?"

          "Talent? Experience? I don't know. My mouth moves ahead of my brain." Lux said almost absentmindedly.

          "Isn't that the truth." Amy said smirking and moving further away from Lux.

          "Oh no you didn't. Come here." Lux finally woke up and started chasing after Amy and the chase lasted until they got to school. Once they arrived, Amy finally stopped running allowing Lux to tap her gently with her bag. As Lux and Amy calmed down from laughing, Lux looked around and saw that her suspicion was right. Allison was sitting in a car at a safe distance with a camera and telephoto lens. Lux took a look around and found Poppy who already had her phone out and Lux felt her phone buzz and resisted the temptation to look at it. Once Lux got inside, she did pull out her phone to see what Poppy had sent.

          'Reporter here. May not stay. Keep eyes out.' Lux just looked at it and rolled her eyes. As she was looking, Janna responded.

          'Ok. I'll watch during lunch and when I leave.' Lux was more receptive to Janna's text, until a punch at her hip brought her around.

          "It is rude to punch someone." Lux said turning to see Poppy next to her.

          "I get an eye roll and Janna gets a nod. Nice." Poppy had a look of sass on her face while trying to conceal a smile.

          "Oh come on, your text was a perfect representation of you and so was Janna's. Which is exactly why we like you. You're suppressing a smile so cut it out." Lux said shaking her head while smiling.

          "Yeah I guess. Well hopefully we can get through today with um…everything intact." Poppy said as she walked to her class while Lux headed off towards hers. Once in class, Lux could easily resist looking out the window as her classroom faced away from where Allison was sitting in her car, but Poppy wasn't so lucky. She kept looking out the window to check in on her, but two things made it look like she was just a board student. First was her height being a yordle, second, she could really pull off the whole "I'm boarded beyond belief" look.

* * *

 

          Allison herself was looking around outside and after a few hours noticed she wasn't making headway. She couldn't risk going into the school without a reason and she knew that it would only take a second to alert the police, and possibly the guardians. Allison packed up and headed to the next closest school where Janna was all too annoyed to see her pull up. Checking quickly, Janna texted the others to let them know, but more than likely she would move on.

* * *

 

          Still Janna was careful about what she did over her lunch as Allison was still watching. Trying to meet up with Poppy and Lux was a very bad idea so she had lunch with Garen, Jayce, Darius, and Draven. Having to endure a lunch with them was almost tolerable, but when put next to compromising her and the others, it was more than worth it. Allison moved on not long after the lunch hour ended, and Janna knew she would be checking the rest of the schools.

          The school day let out without any further incidents or sightings but they all knew that it wouldn't be long before someone else came checking. They all had the inkling that another attack would be soon, but just how soon would be the real question.

* * *

 

          Rek'Sai was rather infuriated that evening as no progress was made in finding their identities, and realized she would need to get another seeker involved. However, she also knew that no real target existed so she would have to get lucky. She spent the night searching the city and she even went beyond to try and find something but she came up empty. As dawn approached, she ripped open a portal to the moon and entered the palace. Walking quickly through the corridors she eventually found where Kha'Zix was hiding.

          "Well it seems that your plan has fallen apart hasn't it?" He said as Rek'Sai entered.

          "No I just hit a snag. I can't find a target to plant a seeker so I need something. I know you have something."

          "In fact I do. However, it will be up to you to convince them to help you. They know full well that they might end up dead so convincing them will be difficult. I won't help you." Kha'Zix said with a smirk.

          "Then I will do that myself." Rek'Sai stormed out of the room, and Kha'Zix turned his head, then followed.

          "Wait. What do you need one for?" He said catching up. Around the corner, both Malzahar and Cho'Gath were watching with interest.

          "I need a distraction. Something to draw out the guardians. I have a seeker in place already to try and capture them before and after they transform. Then we hunt them down when they aren't transformed, and anyone else close to them." Kha'Zix, along with Cho'Gath and Malzahar who stayed hidden, smiled.

          "In that case, may I present an alternate option. It will cost energy but it will better." Kha'Zix lead Rek'Sai towards a room that she had never entered before. "You probably don't know about this because you are always so close to your seekers." Inside the room, there were thousands of small creatures wandering around on the floor. "These are what we call Zz. For what you want to do, these are perfect. If you infuse one with energy, it will grow to a large size and will be extremely effective. Unfortunately we can't bread more right now, especially after Malzahar's stupid attack decision, so be careful with it and get its full use."

          "So they are designed to be thrown away?"

          "That is their purpose." Rek'Sai gave a quick nod to Kha'Zix and left to pick out a prime one. Rek'Sai searched for a few minutes before grabbing one that was following her and after looking it over, it was ready for a good attack. "Good now come." Kha'Zix lead Rek'Sai over to a device with an energy orb on top of it. "Infuse as much energy as you think you need into it, and step back as you do so. You can always stop but you can undo so be careful."

          Rek'Sai placed the cup over the "mouth" of the Zz and pressed the button. Immediately the thing started growing and after it reached a decent size, Rek'Sai stopped but after looking it over, added a little more for good measure. Unhooking the creature, Rek'Sai followed Kha'Zix out of the room and the creature, which was now very large, followed.

          "Now you have to head back to the planet. Since are bringing some rather large with you, you need to pick your point carefully. My helpfulness ends here." Kha'Zix fluttered his wings and headed off. Meanwhile Rek'Sai studied the magics around Runeterra carefully and after finding a large enough gap, headed through it with the Zz.

* * *

 

          A chill went down the spines of Lux, Janna, and Poppy as Rek'Sai returned to Runeterra with the Zz. They all knew that time was up. Looking at the clock, Lux was relieved that school was almost over, but she also knew there was a danger. If Rek'Sai waited, and attacked just after school started tomorrow, the "reporter" would catch them without much of an issue. Little did Lux know this was Rek'Sai's plan, but Lux, Janna, and Poppy had ways around this. Lux started writing down things quickly as class concluded and met up with Poppy as they walked home. Janna would have normally joined them, but instead got a ride home from Garen to keep up their illusion.

          Once Lux got home, she quickly sent a message to Janna and Poppy to meet at the Library. They all managed to get there hopefully without being detected and entered the tower. Vel'Koz was there as Lux asked him to attend. Lux was also the last to arrive.

          "Sorry, I could see that reporter looking for anything out of the ordinary. She is staying near schools trying to pick us out. But since she went to our school first, for probably a few reasons, I think she will be back tomorrow. I find it highly likely that Rek'Sai will attack just after the start of the school day and she can catch us cutting class." Lux said taking a seat at the table.

          Vel'Koz and Poppy nodded, while Janna spoke up. "I would agree, however we do have ways around that. However, pulling it off will be complicated. We will have to involve the police and it will effect every school in the area. That is even if they believe us."

          Poppy put her head down trying to think; Vel'Koz "paced" back and forth; Janna twirled her pendent between her fingers; Lux stood up and leaned against a wall. They all tried to come up with a solution, but it was Poppy who spoke first. "OK we know that there is a seeker who will try an catch us, but what else would she be using?"

          "I have no idea. That is a good question. Whatever it was, it was rather large so I'm guessing something along the lines of that giant thing. I honestly don't have an idea with this one. Rek'Sai distrusts many of the void creatures apart from her own. But she respects them and that isn't as big of an issue. She would seek out help, but again, what she could be using is a mystery to me."

          "Ok so it is large. That means instant public safety threat. I say we just transform, head to the police station, and talk to Caitlyn directly." Lux and Janna looked at each other, then Poppy, then back at each other.

          "That actually isn't a bad idea. Sometimes direct is the best option." Lux said after about a minute of silence.

          "I'll get Nasus to drive you. It would be probably best." Vel'Koz almost flew out of the room tracking down Nasus.

          "Ok then. Ready?" Lux said, turning to Janna and Poppy, who just nodded in reply. "Star Guardian Power Up!" After they all settled back down after transforming, they grabbed the cloaks that they had left in the room for purposes like this, and headed to the garage to find Nasus waiting.

          "OK then get in." Nasus said as he climbed in the driver's seat and took off towards the Police Station.

          "Nasus, do you mind doing all of this?" Poppy asked as they drove along.

          "No actually. Most of job is rather boring, well usually until recently. So things like this are a welcome change. Not to mention even with all of the excitement, what my job mostly consists of is managing. Vel'Koz may be the operator, but I do a lot of the busy work. Which means a lot of paperwork. But again, it isn't a bother. The staff runs things so well, that often most of my job is just walking around checking in on everyone and seeing that they have everything they need." Nasus said in reply.

          "Just curious. It must have boring days?" Poppy said.

          "It does, but again there is always something that comes up that makes the day different. This is today's. Once we get there, I'll drop you off and park unless you see that woman. I'm glad Vel'Koz finally shelled out the money for tinting these windows." Nasus said as they rounded the final corner to the police station. They did indeed see Allison taking pictures, but she wasn't focused on the police station, nor did she seem to notice them passing as she kept the camera trained in the opposite direction.

          Arriving at the station, Nasus let the Guardians out and found a secluded place to park. The Guardians entered the station and headed up to the desk. The officer there didn't even look up, considering everything going on around them, it wasn't surprising. "What I can I help you with?" He said as they finally got to the desk.

          "We need to see the Chief." Lux said, keeping her voice straight and steady.

          "No one sees the Chief without an appointment. Especially kids. Now run along."

          "I think she'll make an exception." Lux said, placing her baton on the counter. The officer sitting there took one look, then at Lux, or at least as much as he could make out under her hood. It was good enough to get a look at her tiara. That was enough apparently.

          "Give me a minute." He quickly grabbed a phone. "Chief. There is someone here to see you. I understand that ma'am, but I think you will want to make an exception. Yes I'm sure it's worth your time. How much would I bet on that? My pension. She'll see you three. Officer Crownguard will be here in a minute to escort you. Please just wait here." The officer quickly made himself look busy but took no further action, nor did he attempt to signal anyone else. Lux felt a sight ping of annoyance and worry as her father would be escorting her, but the magic around them should hold up. Hopefully.

          A nearby door opened and Lux's father exited. He was actually in uniform for once and waved the three of them over. "If you three will follow me, I'll get you to the Chief's office." They headed through the detective bullpen, it was then Lux noticed the Lieutenant's bars on his lapels. Lux knew that he hadn't been promoted, or hadn't said anything. Probably would make her mother worry but he would probably come clean soon. Or her mother would find out soon enough. As they walked through the bullpen, the eyes that went on them were surprising. Clearly no one expected this and everyone was curious.

          Upon reaching Caitlyn's office, they found she wasn't alone. Vi was also present and she seemed eager to punch something. As the Guardians entered, Caitlyn stood up and Vi stopped leaning against the wall. "Thank you Lieutenant."

          "Ma'am." With that, Lux's father headed back to wherever he had his desk now. Caitlyn on the other hand, turned to the Guardians. "Well. I guess I do owe the desk officer a month paid vacation then." She said as Lux, Janna, and Poppy lowered their hoods. Lux was especially nervous. Caitlyn had seen her both ways, but after studying the very intuitive Chief for a few seconds, Lux determined that the magic surrounding them, was holding.

          "So what is your reason for coming? I'm guessing that some kind of attack is imminent. I'm aware that you can sense these attacks, but have no idea when they will attack. I'm still an investigator at heart." She added as the three gave her a puzzled look. "So what is it and where?" Caitlyn asked as she reached out her hand to offer Lux a seat.

          "We have reason to suspect that there will be a large attack tomorrow morning against several schools in the city." Janna watched as a brief look of concern crossed Caitlyn's face, while Poppy noticed one on Vi's, which stayed. "We don't have specifics but the problem is that there is someone hunting for us."

          "What gives you that idea? Please I am curious." Caitlyn's face went from forced calm to interest.

          "There's this reporter who keeps searching for us. Allison Harper." That got a look from Caitlyn and Vi. "She was outside a lot of schools lately."

          "Probably trying to catch you lot before you transform. A few weeks ago, I might have helped her. However, if I can guess anything about the three of you is that you are teenagers and that you do attend school. So I'm guessing you need us to evacuate schools during the day tomorrow after they start. As I said, I'm a very good investigator. Had I been assigned to find out your identities, I probably would have succeeded, or have a very short list.

          "However, I have no interest in that anymore. It is clear that your safety is ours as well. Our police department isn't equipped to handle these kind of things. Well not without a lot of very banned weapons. We still have them, but unless there is a serious threat, I can't get them out. Now about tomorrow." Caitlyn finally let up so Lux could get in a word.

          "Yes. We believe it will start after schools get in. We are unsure if it will be against a school directly, so we figured we'd inform you just in case. We saw Ms. Harper downtown taking pictures so we are unsure what she was doing."

          "With regards to the schools, do you have any likely targets? Usually the first is the key or at least the one she suspects the most. As to what she was doing downtown, I have no idea, so I'll have her tailed. Even if they are spotted, the fact she was taking pictures randomly downtown is something that warrants suspicion."

          Lux responded immediately. "We don't know. We saw her checking out a few schools over the course of the day. We didn't see which one she started at first." Poppy who was about to move and speak, stopped herself before she did so. Giving up their own school would only bring more attention on them, and to the point where they couldn't get away. "We'll be ready, but you have to be ready as well to evacuate or move people."

          "And if we do anything before, it is likely they will do something worse, or wait. This isn't the first time we've kept something from the public. We will do what we can. You just finish it before it does too much damage. Well one thing all of this has done is that it has both been a benefit to our police, and a boon for construction companies." That got everyone laughing. Caitlyn stood up as Lux took the hint and pulled her hood back up.

          "I'll have someone escort you out the back?" It was a question not a statement.

          "The front door would actually be better. If she saw us come in, then it is likely she will except us to walk out the back." Janna said, keeping her voice steady.

          "Good idea. I'll walk them out boss." Vi said as she moved ahead of them while Caitlyn just put her head in her hands and shook it. As they left the station, they met up with Nasus and they managed to get back to the Library without incident. Ms. Harper was having a hard time evading the police if Nasus' police scanner was anything to go on. She did eventually lose them, or rather just went home. The seeker probably wasn't happy.

          It wasn't. In her home, Allison fumed. It was honestly hard to tell if it was the seeker or Allison that was more angry. Still she made a stupid decision of taking pictures of downtown for tomorrow's attack. She knew that the police would be mobilized and she had no idea who the Guardians where. Carefully looking over the photos she took, tomorrow was going to be a good day.

          The next morning dawned with Lux hearing her parents arguing over her father's promotion. More of the fact he didn't tell her than anything. She wasn't angry with his expanded responsibilities, but as Lux and Garen just shook their heads as their father pleaded for help. Both were barely suppressing all out laughter. But that changed when Mrs. Crownguard just turned to them and gave them a smile. Clearly knowing he was on the receiving end of a joke, he just left because of the busy day ahead.

          "Well, that will teach him to not keep things from me. Although I did just cheat myself out of a nice dinner now that I think about it." Garen was holding a chair for support at this point while Lux was sitting on the stairs because she couldn't stand anymore. "Ok enough you two, get off to school. And be careful today."

          "We know mom." Their father briefed them the night before about what was going to happen, but Lux knew that it would only be a matter of time before she would be fighting for her life. As they both made their way to school, they gave each other a hug as they parted ways. Lux caught Janna's eye and she just nodded, while Garen tripped over himself to try and impress her. That just got Janna to roll her eyes and laugh. Lux then hooked up with Poppy as they walked into school together. Amy was nowhere to be seen today, but as they entered, Lux spotted her with their other friends.

          As everyone was about to head to class, Headmistress Fiora came over the speakers. "All students and staff report to the gym immediately. Poppy and Lux separated quickly as they made their way into the gym. Dorcha in all of the chaos, managed to find Lux, while Solas found Poppy.

          "Lux. Allison was outside this morning, but apparently she was chased off by the police, who were here on an anonymous call about a stalker. She is still trying to ditch them as last check. You should be free to get away." Lux carefully slipped Dorcha into her bag and she saw Poppy do the same with Solas. As they filed into the gym, police where everywhere. They all sat down and you could hear a feather drop in the room.

          "Ok everyone. In about 2 minutes, you will follow these officers out and into the nearby trees. From there, you will all head home. If you are bussed here, busses will be waiting. We have reason to suspect there might be an attack on the school. Now? Ok now then. Everyone move. Quickly and Quietly!" The students somehow proceeded orderly and quietly along the path that was dictated. Lux and Poppy stayed close together as Amy wasn't far behind. Lux turned to her and nodded, telling her that she was going to go with Poppy. Amy quickly linked up with Ariel and they headed towards their homes. Lux and Poppy then wasted no time in getting away from everyone and to Nasus, who was waiting with the van.

          They sped towards the library, only pausing to pick up Janna as she was also evacuated. Ditching Garen however was a challenge. Once they arrived at the library, they made their way to the tower, where Vel'Koz was watching a TV showing Allison's car being chased by the police. Apparently the seeker let loose with some void magic and they speed off in pursuit. Lux turned to Janna and Poppy. They nodded.

          "Star Guardian Power Up!" They quickly left the tower and moved to head off her car. Along the way, they noticed the police evacuating downtown in an orderly fashion. Finally reaching a police barricade, the Guardians joined Vi who was in command, who just nodded to acknowledge them.

          "Looks like you were right. The void magic was a surprise, but gave us the authority to evacuate everything. There's nothing left in downtown, or mostly. Here she comes. That thing work on a car?" Vi asked pointing to Lux's baton.

          "Never tried it. My guess, is probably not, but those would probably work better." Lux countered pointing to the spike strips that were already in place. Vi just laughed and rolled her eyes. The spike strips deployed and the car was brought to a grinding halt. Allison got out of the car only to be surrounded by void energy. "That's our fight. Get everyone back."

          Vi just whistled and the police quickly left the area. Looking around, Lux noticed the area was dead quiet and had a lot of open area. Janna meanwhile noticed Debonair making a quiet entry and leveled his weapon.

          "So I guessed you three would be smart, but apparently I underestimated you. So if I can't find out your identities this way, I guess I'll just have to hurt you enough to force you back."

          "Dream on. You were outsmarted and now you can't stand it. So just give it up. We are the Star Guardians. Sworn to defend the universe against all those that would throw it into chaos. And that means you."

          "You know that only works if I can't see you three." Lux just smiled, and Allison turned only to get a full throttle energy blast right in her face, knocking her out. The seeker finally emerged from its host. "So it seems you have some help. I will not stop until I learn what I want to. The great and wise Yaila always learns what she wants to know. It was so nice to have a corporative host for once. Now you will tell me what I want to know or I will force it out of you." Yaila charged forward and lunged at Janna, who just threw a twister in her face and dodged to the side as gracefully as the wind.

          Lux and Poppy moved around to keep Yaila from escaping while Debonair moved in to complete the triangle parameter. The four of them kept rotating around keeping Yaila on her back foot, literally in some cases. Yaila, getting frustrated, lunged at Poppy who just smacked Yaila back with her hammer and swapped places with Janna who moved into the parameter.

          Yaila kept trying to attack those that encircled her, but Poppy just kept up the hammer hits and they kept moving towards a tree. Once they were close enough, Lux, Janna, and Debonair jumped out of the way and Poppy rammed Yaila into the tree. Lux threw a binding to keep there while Janna threw a twister. After all of that, Poppy and Debonair brought their hammers to bear and rammed them home into Yaila's torso. Roaring from the pain, the team backed off until Yaila got to her feet again.

          "Well it seems that I underestimated you. Now I will come at you with my full power."

          "Oh so you weren't coming at us before? So bring it." Lux taunted. Yaila charged only to be met full in the face with Lux's singularity. Janna moved around throwing a barrier on Lux while Zephyr latched onto Yaila to slow her down. Poppy once again brought her hammer to bear charging into Yaila again and while she didn't pin her, Poppy still managed to push her away. Poppy dived out of the way as an energy blast occupied the space where she had just been a split second before. It hit Yaila full in the chest and she roared again.

          Yaila just slumped down and Lux prepared to finish her, but as she readied her baton, a rumbling beneath her caused her and Debonair to dive out of the way. Janna and Poppy turned to see Rek'Sai erupting from the ground trying, and successfully, disrupting Lux. For her part, Lux managed to tumble roll away and came up with her baton in one hand with the other on the ground with her legs bracing behind her. Rek'Sai, thinking that this was much more vulnerable than it looked, charged, only to be hit with a binding, which froze her in place, but then Debonair decided to do some knocking around. Taking his hammer to the still rooted Rek'Sai sending her flying.

          Yaila tried at that moment to try and reenter the fight only to have Zephyr slow her down, get knocked up by a twister, Poppy throwing her buckler, then a hammer to the face. Yaila tried to dodge around, but Poppy kept her eyes on her and Janna kept Poppy between the two of them almost as if saying "try it". Yaila did just that, and charged attempted to fault over Poppy and hit Janna. Unfortunately that is exactly what Poppy wanted. As Yaila moved over Poppy, she brought her hammer up and knocked Yaila back into a nearby tree.

          "Do it!" Janna yelled as she moved off to join Lux and Debonair. Poppy was only too happy to oblige. Taking her hammer and spinning it above her head, Poppy brought it down with such force that she sent Yaila into one of the few nearby bone of the few nearby buildings. Yaila took the hit hard and slumped down at its base. Poppy, after making sure that Yaila wouldn't be getting up, ran off to join the other fight.

          As they separated, Lux took one quick look behind to see Janna and Poppy keeping up against Yaila, and then threw another singularity at Rek'Sai as she attempted to dodge, and failed. Lux threw a few bolts from her baton while Debonair got a hit through with his energy pulse. Rek'Sai roared and charged against, burrowing beneath the ground. Lux and Debonair stepped apart from each other and kept looking around. Lux kept feeling the ground, and waited.

          "Move!" She yelled. Debonair jumped to the side as Lux threw a binding where he just was. Rek'Sai emerged from the ground only to be immediately hit by the binding that Lux threw. Lux threw a few more bolts while Debonair deployed his gate, and threw yet another energy pulse. Rek'Sai roared again and dived off towards Lux, who threw up a barrier to defend herself and threw a singularity as she dived out of the way. Exploding it, Rek'Sai roared again while Debonair got in a knock with his hammer.

          "You just never learn do you? You can't beat us when we are together." Lux said as she managed to stop herself from sliding further along the grass.

          "But you are separated. So I should be able to beat you, and your friend here." Rek'Sai said as she charged again and lashed out with her claws. Lux threw her baton backwards covering herself and Debonair. Rek'Sai's face as she realized what was happening was priceless. Lux dived out of the way, and Debonair brought his hammer to bear and gave Rek'Sai a good smash right in her face.

          Knocked against a tree, Lux turned to high five Debonair but just as they got close he pointed behind her. Lux turned to see Rek'Sai lunging again. She threw her barrier readied herself for the blow, but the only thing that happened was Rek'Sai flying through the air. Lux turned to see Janna floating up and Poppy sending Yaila into a building. Wincing at the hard hit the void creature had as she hit the building. Poppy then came springing over. Rek'Sai landed with a thud only to pick herself up, however when she saw what was facing her, it was clear that now was a good time to leave.

          "I'll get you brats next time." Rek'Sai ripped open a portal and disappeared through it before anyone could respond. Lux turned her attention to Yaila who was still slumped against a building. As the team made its way over, she stirred.

          "Foolish plan. All of this for nothing." She said as she just made herself comfortable.

          "What do you mean?" Lux said, who brought her baton down as it was clear that she had something to say.

          "All of this was to distract you, but she continues to underestimate you four. I never could even figure out who you are. I'm not Vel'Koz. I can't do a lot of what they ask. Although if he is still here, I can see why he stayed. Although you might just want to finish it. Rek'Sai is preparing another large attack. She took a Zz and is planning to attack downtown. However, you got that evacuated with what I did. So she'll find nothing."

          "What do you mean you aren't like Vel'Koz? Who's that?" Janna was careful to keep her voice neutral. Janna knew that they apparently didn't know about Vel'Koz and now they had to resist telling her.

          "Vel'Koz was the one who accumulated knowledge and shared it. He was left behind when the void fled this planet and we haven't been able to find him since. He won't be able to survive here for long but why we haven't found his remains is beyond me. However I feel I'm not being told everything. I know they are hiding something."

          "So then what was your job?" Poppy asked.

          "To try and catch your all before you transformed. But I failed. Now that my mission is over with no results, Rek'Sai will need a large amount of energy to justify this whole thing. However, my actions, her actions, along with yours, will rob her of that." Yaila grunted in pain as she grabbed her side. "Just find a way to end her, or at least stop her. She must pay for what she did to me."

          "She'll be stopped. She won't win. They won't win." Lux said. Her own voice betraying her.

          "Of that Guardian. I have little doubt. You three are strong, and as soon, when you find your other two, you will be unstoppable. Don't give up."

          "Why do you even care?" Janna asked now more puzzled than ever.

          "If Vel'Koz is still here, I can see why he stayed. This world is beautiful and maybe there might have been a way for us to coexist. But they all ruined that. I studied under him. Hopefully he can finish them for good. Or at least, send them packing." And with that Yaila just turned to dust. Lux looked at everyone else and they were all just staring.

          "Well, that isn't what I expected. I wish we could have gotten more however." Janna said after a few minutes.

          "Yeah, but at least she told us enough. Now where did Vi go?" Lux looked around for Vi who was still with a police unit near the edge of the fight. Lux sprinted over to her and Vi turned with a slight frown on her face. This wouldn't be good.

          "Vi, how evacuated is downtown?" Lux asked as she stopped in place, breathing a bit to catch her breath.

          "Mostly. But since the threat is over, we were about to lift the roadblocks. Why?"

          "You don't want to. Yaila, that creature just gave us some disturbing news. Rek'Sai failed this operation. Now she needs energy to make up for the loss. She plans to attack downtown." Lux said with a bit of panic in her voice.

          "But there is nothing in downtown anymore." Vi said.

          "I know. Which means, she will go on a rampage." Vi's face, normally calm or angry, flashed to panic for a split second.

          "That's not good. Get me a radio. All units, this is Vi, keep all roadblocks up and all officers maintain a perimeter around downtown."

          "Vi, what is going on?" Caitlyn's voice came over the radio. Before Vi could even respond, a loud roar echoed between the buildings. "Nevermind."

          "Well it seems your day is just beginning. Let us know if there is any way we can help." Vi said turning back to her car.

          "Evacuate the remaining parts, and leave it to us." Lux turned to the team, who all nodded in reply. Janna tightened her hand on her staff. Poppy brought her hammer onto her shoulder. Debonair nodded as he transformed his hammer back into his weapon.

          "Then let's go." Lux said as they all charged off past the police roadblocks and into downtown. This fight might be one of the toughest they have faced yet.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the failure of her plan, it seems that Rek'Sai is more than ready to just go to the extreme. With downtown evacuated after the Star Guardian's warning the previous day, she will find nothing. The Guardians are worried that will cause more problems. As in the form of mass destruction. Will the Guardians be able to save downtown before it is destroyed?

          Lux, Janna, Poppy, and Debonair charged into downtown looking for Rek'Sai and the Zz that Yaila warned them about. They didn't have to look for long. They came upon the Zz and Rek'Sai hunting relentlessly for something to get energy from. With the failure of her previous plan, and the fact that she barely had enough energy to cover the previous two attacks stemming from it, Rek'Sai needed a lot of energy to even break even. As she moved through downtown however, she found that it was empty. The police had done their job.

          Finally rounding a cover, the two groups spotted each other. Rek'Sai, knowing she wasn't in any condition to fight, knew that she would have to use the Zz to distract while she hunted. But getting away would be the problem. Many of the devices that she had previously set did have energy in them and while it wasn't enough, she did have to get them. "Get them." Rek'Sai ran off while the Zz charged at the group. They all managed to easily dodge it, but with surprising agility, it turned and changed again. Lux threw a binding and it managed to stop it for a few seconds.

          "We need someone to follow her."

          "Someone who can aim and shoot." Everyone turned to Lux.

          "Why me?" She asked puzzled by their stance.

          "Because you can keep up. None of us can. Don't worry, we'll be fine." Lux smiled as the Zz charged again. "Go!" Janna yelled as they all dove out of the way again. Lux broke from the group while the rest of them were determined to keep the collateral damage to a minimum.

          Lux charged off after Rek'Sai and after losing her for a few minutes, she caught the burrower pushing an orb through a void portal. Looking around, Lux saw another orb attached to a collection device and after looking briefly at Rek'Sai, she threw a few bolts at it, shattering the fragile orb. Rek'Sai looked up and roared in anger. Dropping to the street, Lux readied herself for another fight. Rek'Sai was severely wounded and she knew that a fight wouldn't last long.

          "You can't stop me from getting them all guardian. I will get a lot of them. Good luck." Rek'Sai attempted to run off but Lux hit her with binding and took off. Rek'Sai was right about one thing, she would get a lot of them. She knew where they were all positioned, while Lux didn't. Rounding a corner, she saw another and shattered it. Lux kept searching and while rounding a corner trying to get a better angle on another, ran right into Caitlyn, knocking the police chief to the ground.

          "A simple hello would do." She said, as Lux attempted to get back to her feet. Caitlyn held out her hand, which Lux took. "Now what is going on. Downtown is evacuated so apart from the giant thing running around, what else is that creature after?"

          Lux pointed to the building. "See that?" Caitlyn nodded. "That's an energy collection device. There are an unknown number around. You don't need to damage them, just shatter the orbs on top. They are extremely fragile. We need to shatter as many as possible." Lux said as she caught her breath. Lux tried to move to get an angle, but Caitlyn just got down on one knee, pulled her rifle, aimed, and fired. The orb shattered into tiny pieces.

          "Well I know how I can help with that. Get in." Caitlyn got in the seat of the cruiser while Lux hopped in the back. Vi was at the wheel.

          "So what's the word chief?" VI asked but Caitlyn just held up her hand.

          "This is the Chief. All sharpshooter teams are to enter downtown. You will be sent a picture of your targets. They are scattered throughout downtown and in unknown locations. All you have to do is shatter the orbs. Try to leave the machines undamaged if possible. If you encounter the large scorpion like creature, get away. All teams move." Caitlyn put the radio down. "Drive. I'll let you know when to stop. You keep an eye out for that creature." Lux nodded and stood up in the sun roof while Caitlyn hug out the passenger window. Vi drove in a standard search pattern as they looked for more. After just a few seconds, they found another. Vi slammed on the brakes, while Caitlyn first took a picture of the device, then pulled her rifle and ended another collector.

          Caitlyn got back in an pulled the radio again. "All teams, check your phones. Again aim for the orbs. Get in a cruiser with a pursuit driver and get moving. Search pattern Delta. Dispatch coordinate and issue grids to teams." Lux ducked her head back in to see the computer light up. Within a few seconds, 15 dots showed up. 13 in red, one in blue, and one in green. Then a city map appeared and another second later, a grid lit up in green. Lux figured that the blue dot was the rest of the team while the red dots represented the rest of the teams. "Good let's go."

          Vi hit the gas and Lux and Caitlyn started hanging out again. Vi drove like she was crazy, but she was fully in control. "Her two favorite things. Punching things..."

          "And let me guess driving?" Lux responded as Caitlyn sniped another orb. It was to her credit as marksman that she didn't miss, even with how Vi was driving. Occasionally a black dot appeared, Lux didn't need to guess that was Rek'Sai sightings. X's also started appearing as they showed the location of destroyed orbs. Lux kept a careful eye out for Rek'Sai as it was probably only a matter of time until they encountered her. A few circles appeared as the legend updated when they found machines with orbs missing. Another symbol, this time a slashed showed ones that were discovered but unable to be hit.

          Vi kept driving around and the number of X's on the map were starting to be staggering. "Just how many machines did she plant?" Vi asked as they rounded another corner and Caitlyn took another shot, while Lux threw a singularity, both hitting and shattering more. Lux found another, and threw a few bolts at it, shattering another.

          "Got it." Lux smiled to herself as keeping a straight face while keeping her balance was a challenge.

          "Good job kid. Don't get cocky." Caitlyn yelled over the wind as they rounded another corner. "So what was the plan?"

          "Our guess was that they would get us before we transformed, and pin us down while Rek'Sai attacked downtown to get a massive energy boost. Allison Harper is innocent. It was all the seeker."

          Caitlyn took a second to answer while Vi just nodded. "That was actually a good plan. Too bad you saw right through it. Another." Caitlyn took another shot and hit another orb. Vi kept going along the street and they found another one which Caitlyn took out. As they rounded yet another corner, Rek'Sai was seen trying to get a hold of another orb. Vi slammed on the brakes and Lux jumped throwing a binding and singularity ahead of them. The binding froze Rek'Sai before she could open a portal. Lux exploded the singularity, not only getting the orb, but hitting Rek'Sai in the face.

          Roaring in anger, Rek'Sai turned to try and hit Lux, but seeing Caitlyn lining up, she dodged out of the way and quickly got out of sight. Vi tapped a few keys and a black dot showed up where Rek'Sai just was. Lux climbed back into the cruiser and Vi took off again. "Nice shooting kid." Caitlyn said and Lux just smiled as a result.

          Rounding another corner, they neared the end of their grid and Caitlyn spotted one more orb. Vi brought the car to a stop and Caitlyn lined up and took it out. Vi cleared the sector and it turned blue. "Dispatch to team 1, move into sector 4 and use search pattern echo."

          "Roger dispatch. Hold on." Vi hit the gas and the cruiser's wheels spun and they took off again. Caitlyn spotted another, but after a few streets of nothing they ran across the team assigned to the grid. Most of the grids were blue at this point. Only grid 15 was still red. Which also happened to be the gird with the rest of Lux's team. "Looks like there is only one left. I think we should check it out." Caitlyn and Lux grabbed onto something as Vi hit the gas again and sped off to the sector.

          As they were traveling, a black dot appeared near the blue one and Lux knew that Rek'Sai had returned to the fight. Lux tapped Vi on the shoulder and pointed to the blue dot. Vi just nodded and they rounded another corner. As they drove up to the fight, it was clear that Rek'Sai was on the losing end of it. Already heavily wounded from the previous fight, she was having a hard time keeping up with Debonair who was keeping her pinned and away from the fight while Janna and Poppy were clearly having their issues with the giant Zz.

          "This is my stop." Lux said and Vi slammed on the breaks again and Lux managed to jump from the vehicle and rolled as she landed. It was to her credit that she managed to roll onto her feet and started running. She charged into the fight and just as the creature charged at Poppy again. Lux threw a barrier to keep her safe as Janna had moved out of the way and missed deploying her barrier. While Lux's didn't stop all of the damage, Poppy was at least able to walk away, abet with a few bruises. Janna turned on the ground to see Lux charging towards them with Caitlyn setting up in the background. Clearly she wasn't going to sit out this fight.

* * *

 

          As Lux sprinted off, Janna, Poppy, and Debonair turned to face their problem. The Zz was huge and clearly spoiling for a fight. "Ok then. Ideas anyone?" Poppy asked.

          "Yeah. Everyone keep on the move and keep hitting it." Janna said as she threw a twister to keep the Zz from trampling them. They spread out, keeping the Zz from focusing any one of them for longer than a few seconds. "Transform back to ranged. It will be your job and mine to keep our friend safe as she gets close." Poppy moved back while the Zz recovered from being throw into the air.

          Debonair looked a little puzzled, but Janna threw a bolt from her staff as the Zz charged again and they all dived out of the way again. "Since when can you do that?" He asked as they got to their feet.

          "I've always been able to, but my real strength is controlling the fight. Plus they usually do most of the damage." Janna replied as she set up to keep both Debonair and Poppy in her sights. Poppy didn't waste much time and charged into the fight keeping well aware of where everyone was. They couldn't afford a mistake. Hitting the Zz with a few hits before backing off. It turned to counter attack, but Debonair hit it with an energy blast that caused it to turn again.

          As it started charging toward Debonair, Janna threw another twister that caused the Zz to once again fly into the air. Once it landed, Debonair, transformed his weapon again and hit the Zz back with a swift stroke. The Zz turned to Janna who just gracefully moved out of the way as it approached. The Zz, unable to stop, ran smack into a wall which clearly did some damage.

          As it crawled to its feet again, the team turned around to combat it fully as it seemed to not want to run into another wall. Poppy again moved in and Debonair kept his position on the parameter while Janna was careful to keep both of them in her sights. Poppy kept doing her job of landing a few hammer blows in and once the Zz turned to her to counter attack, Debonair threw an energy pulse while Janna shielded Poppy from damage and Janna also threw a twister to make sure it didn't land a blow.

They kept this pattern up for a while until Janna felt something moving underneath them. "Move!" Janna yelled as she dived out of the way. Poppy knocked the Zz off its feet as Debonair threw an energy pulse. Rek'Sai erupted from the ground under Janna clearly trying to surprise her but only hit air as Janna turned around and threw a twister to keep Rek'Sai immobilized while the team repositioned and assessed their situation.

          "Ok who wants to deal with the ugly one?" Poppy asked.

          "Which one is the ugly one?" Debonair asked and they all laughed for a second. "I'll deal with her. You two deal with that thing." Debonair pointed at the Zz to make his point.

          "Agreed." Janna said and she moved off with Poppy and Debonair moved between them and Rek'Sai. Rek'Sai recovered from everything and she turned to try and get at the Guardians, but found her way blocked.

          "So you challenge me fool?" Rek'Sai got to her feet, but winced in the process. Debonair didn't miss that.

          "I would say that I'm not a fool. You are weakened and I'm still fresh. Mostly. I think this will be one lopsided fight." He responded, transforming his weapon in the process. That got Rek'Sai mad and she charged, which is exactly what Debonair wanted. Rek'Sai dived at him, only to be met with Debonair's hammer in her face. Rek'Sai was knocked back and she was slow to get up. Debonair took advantage of the opportunity to throw an energy pulse her way. Rek'Sai roared in pain and was again slow to get up to her feet. Turning to her Zz, she saw that maybe it would see some success.

          Success was an ambiguous word. The Zz was keeping Janna and Poppy busy, but it wasn't having a lot of effect. Poppy kept diving around but Janna kept shielding her and Poppy just kept diving around, getting in solid hits. The Zz was large and mobile, but it still wasn't fast enough to get ahold of Poppy. Janna was also throwing twisters at several instances. Rek'Sai however saw an opportunity but she would only have one shot.

          Roaring she sprung to her feet and dived into the ground, avoiding another energy pulse from Debonair in the process. "Look out!" He yelled and Janna turned only to see a seeker heading her way. Janna dived out of the way and missed throwing a barrier. Poppy realized only too late what had happened. She was already going into her attack and knew that she would come out of this hurt. Poppy swung her hammer and waited for the blow to fall, but when it came it was light. Turning, she saw Lux charging towards them and recovering her baton, which she had apparently threw to keep her safe. Janna was picking herself back up as Debonair knocked Rek'Sai back in response to what she did.

          "Nice to see you. Get anything?" Janna asked as she pulled herself back to her feet.

          "A few, she got most of them." Lux responded pointing to Caitlyn who how seemed to be more interested in setting up a parameter as more police showed up. Lux threw a binding and a few bolts at the Zz to keep it distracted while Poppy charged again. Janna moved off to help Debonair.

          Rek'Sai seeing her plan had failed, and as injured as she was, ripped open a portal to the moon, and disappeared. Debonair fired a pulse but it only hit thin air as Rek'Sai vanished. Janna and Debonair moved back to join Lux and Poppy, who were just ripping through the Zz, Debonair transformed his weapon and charged in after Poppy. Lux threw a barrier around both of them as Janna threw a twister to keep the Zz pinned while Poppy and Debonair knocked it back and into a building. Lux focused her powers and leaped into the air.

          "Final Spark!" She threw her powers into her beam. The Zz and turned to dust. Lux touched back down and turned to the rest of the team. Debonair was using his hammer to prop himself up, and was breathing heavily. Poppy had her hammer on the ground and was sitting on it catching her breath. Janna was likewise using her staff for support. Lux was standing up, mostly because she wasn't dodging around as much as the others.

          Caitlyn came over to the team as the rest of the police started packing up. "Well you four have done a lot more than could ever have been asked of you. Hopefully we can have a few days of peace. I've called Vel'Koz here to try and get something from those remains. I'm assuming you four don't want to stay?" It wasn't a statement but rather a question. Lux looked between the four and while Janna and Poppy nodded, Debonair just hitched up his weapon and shook his head.

          "I guess we'll stay then. I'm not going to hold him to the same standard." Lux nodded to Debonair, who rushed off. Lux and the others took shelter under a tree while they waited for Vel'Koz to show up. Even with the heavy police presence, it still took a while. After almost an hour, Vel'Koz finally showed up with Nasus and while Nasus stood near the truck, Vel'Koz floated over to the ruins of the battle. He took a look around and he floated over to the Guardians. Lux and the rest of the team took to their feet as he approached.

          "Well I guess we all owe you all a debt. I'll look around for a bit to figure out what is going on. If you wouldn't mind waiting until I'm done I would appreciate it?"

          'On a side note, this might allow a few things to be easier.' He said to the three privately.

          "Sure. We'll wait around." Lux went back to sitting on the rock she was, while Janna and Poppy sat down against the tree nearby. Vel'Koz spent the better part of an hour looking over the remains of the battle, and then traveling to see the remains of the void collectors. After an hour, Vel'Koz and Nasus loaded up the van with some of the remains and Vel'Koz came back to the team.

          "If you three could come with me, hopefully we can get to the bottom of this. If you want. I'm sure you are tired but…" Vel'Koz let his speech trail off but the three took to their feet.

          "Sure." Janna said while Lux and Poppy just nodded. They hopped into the backseat of the truck and they headed off to the museum. The ride itself was quiet, as Lux and Janna kept an eye out for more trouble from the cab, Poppy rode in the back with her hammer ready in case something else decided to try an interfere with their travel. While Vel'Koz was safely hidden, none of them were taking a chance that he would be discovered or be interecepted before they can get into his secured lab.

          Rek'Sai for her part was watching, but only saw Nasus and the Guardians, well two of them anyway. She knew she was in no shape to fight another long battle, or a short battle for that matter. The tech she lost would only help those Guardians be better against them, and detect their energy harvesting tech faster. Rek'Sai knew she overcommitted and she would be paying for it. Malzahar wouldn't be happy with her and she dreaded going back, but also knew she had no choice. Rek'Sai opened a final portal to the moon and dove through it knowing her fate.

          Once they were back at the Library, Lux, Janna, and Poppy spread out and secured the area while Vel'Koz and Nasus started unloading the truck and moving the captured equipment and remains down to the lab. Once they were secured, the Guardians powered down and Vel'Koz started to work. Lux, Janna, Poppy, and Nasus attempted to help, but Vel'Koz just waved them all away and floated around the lab with a purpose. For the next hour, the four of them played a board game while Vel'Koz worked. All of them felt guilty for not doing anything, but with how he was moving, it was rather difficult.

          Finally after about an hour and a half, Vel'Koz finally floated over to them. "I need you three to transform again. There is something that I can't analyze and trace its origin."

          "Ok. Sure." Lux said standing.

          "I don't like where this is going." Janna said also standing up. Poppy didn't say anything but kept a stoic face as she hopped to her feet.

          "Ready. Star Guardian Power Up!" The three transformed again and Vel'Koz directed them to a device.

          "Lux, please cast a binding, Janna a twister, and Poppy throw your buckler." They all just looked at each other, and even Vel'Koz looked worried.

          "Ok then." All three did as they asked while Vel'Koz watched several monitors. "Well?" Lux asked, with a sense of dread on her face. Vel'Koz just sighed, or as best he could, but turned and was smiling, again as best he could.

          "It isn't what I feared, but it is still interesting. I originally thought that these new creatures were developed from the magics of the Star Guardians, but that was incorrect. They were developed as a direct result of conflict against them. They are more resistant to your abilities, but as they get bigger, they lose those resistances."

          "So overwhelm us? Smart actually." Poppy said as she sat on her hammer. "If they can overwhelm us, they it would be easier for them to take us down."

          "Exactly. But my theory is that these creatures, while able to be bred in large numbers, they aren't able to breed more, as they probably used a lot during Malzahar's attack a month ago or so. My guess is they need more energy to breed more. However, we may have a solution. Debonair's weapon. It uses a combination of magic and technology and I think I might be able to tap into that to make your weapons and abilities better. Now, we just need a way to contact him. But there is other things."

          Vel'Koz lead them over to the destroyed collectors. "Now I believe I've told this to Lux and Janna, but they have improved their collection technology since I've been with them. However, this is something new and disturbing. See this device," Vel'Koz pointed to a circular device near the orb, "this is something that can track your energy. Even when you are not transformed. They have been trying to track your three, but if they managed to get grid far enough…"

          "They might be able to track us at home." Janna said, as she sat down shaking her head. Lux just put a hand on her hip and took a difference stance.

          "Well I guess we'll just have to keep vigilant. They will probably do this a lot more to try and track us all down. But we can also coordinate with the police now that they know what to look for."

          "Is there anything else they could use to track it?" Poppy said jumping up and moving to look closer at the collector.

          "Yes actually. The trackers emit a small energy signature that reacts when you are nearby. They have to be passive, or they would be noticed instantly so all they would have to do is track your movements and they could draw a map. However, the signature, while small, is still easily detectable. I'm working on a tracker for it right now and it should be ready in a few days. However, that isn't the worse news."

          "Why can't anything be easy?" Lux said, now sitting down as well. Vel'Koz paused for a moment before continuing.

          "Because then it wouldn't be a war. Which is what this is." All three Guardians just hung their heads at that. They all knew it, but none of them wanted to admit it until now. "The bad thing about these new collectors, is that they can work in a passive mode, collecting excess energy from the environment around them."

          "Great. More problems." Janna said, dropping her staff in the process, but catching it before it hit the floor.

          "True, but now we have something that we didn't before. We know their tactics, their strategy, their weaknesses, and finally, their plan. We also have the police backing us up when we need it, if we can rely on them, I really don't want to, but it's there. We can also find other allies which means," Lux turned to Dorcha and Solas, " you two need to find our other two teammates, and quickly." They both just nodded in reply.

          "In the meantime, we have to work with the police and keep an eye out ourselves for these devices. We also need to make sure that we can't be tracked and located. So we need to keep vigilant." Janna and Poppy just nodded.

          "Well I'll do my best to keep you safe for now. However, there isn't much I can do. At least we can made it reasonable for you to come here transformed now. None of you can do anything more right now, so head home. I'm sure your parents are worried about you. But considering the library was locked down until about 10 minutes ago, and considering you were evacuated from school, it was probably a good idea that you came here."

          Lux, Janna, and Poppy just nodded, powered down and they all headed home. When they all got home, their parents were able to readily accept their stories considering the chaos that engulfed the city and everything. They all settled down after a very long day where they spent a lot of it fighting.

          "Hey sis, everything alright?" Garen poked his head into Lux's room as she sat at her computer just browsing the internet. Lux just turned and nodded.

          "I'm fine. Just a lot of stuff happening at once. I'm just a bit overwhelmed and I'm sure you are too. I just wish there was more we could do to try and help, but apparently that isn't happening. We try and do something, but if we try, we could end up severely injured or worse." Lux leaned back into her chair with her head down.

          "Yeah I guess. I know dad isn't sleeping well lately. No one is. Jayce and his family moved here to get away from craziness, and find more."

          Lux picked her head up. "Jayce? He seems to be fine."

          "Yeah you don't see him at school. He's constantly falling asleep and seems out of it a lot. And he's always disappearing without reason sometimes." Garen said as he leaned against her doorframe.

          "Maybe it's just instinct. I mean you said he came from a rough area."

          "True. Anyway hope you can get a good night sleep." Garen ducked out, and closed the door behind him. Lux didn't give Garen's words a second thought and just crawled into bed and fell asleep.

* * *

 

          The following morning was relatively relaxed and a nice day. Schools across the city were canceled to give students a long weekend. Lux, Janna, and Poppy just slept in until almost midday to try and catch up on sleep they had lost. All three struggled to get out of bed because none of them want to move. Especially on a nice day, which was perfectly suited to remain in bed and do nothing. Not even their families were complaining given everything that had happened the previous day. The city itself seemed to be taking a collective breath after the chaos and no one was complaining.

          When Lux finally dragged herself out of bed after midday and after having a brief lunch at home, headed to the library. After making her way through the library to the tower, she found it empty. Knowing that Janna and Poppy probably wouldn't be coming, Lux just headed to Vel'Koz's lab instead and found him floating over his work. "Anything I can help with?" She asked as she entered. Vel'Koz turned and shook his body.

          "Not really. I've almost finished the tracker, but there is something that I can do with it and may have been the void's ultimate purpose with this." Lux sat down as a look of concern crossed her face. "As you know, you can all feel each other and that is how Dorcha and Solas found you all. The new guardians are here and we might be able to locate them using this technology." Vel'Koz was very excited but only a look of almost terror from Lux made him calm down.

          "I know what you are thinking, but here's a question for you. If your enemy drops something in your lap that can help you, should you just ignore it and not use it?" Lux dropped her head and when she brought it back up, she was smiling.

          "I guess I can't argue with that logic, but you can reprogram them so they transmit to us right and not them?" Lux asked.

          "Well that's the thing, they need to be accessed manually so I'm working on a portable solution that could transmit to a secure device, but perhaps we should keep that feature. Especially if we are the only ones who know where they are. What do you think?" Vel'Koz tossed another question at the Guardian Leader.

          "I would agree. Manually is probably better as it would be easy for anyone to get to them otherwise. Maybe we can find our new Guardians faster this way. But that is if they are in the city. They may not be." Lux said as she stood up.

          "True enough. Anyway I'll be coordinating with the police department for the bad parts of this but at least we have a way of tracking these things. What I'm worried about is how many there are." Vel'Koz said as Lux opened the door to leave.

          "I'm worried about where, not how many." She said as she left. Lux proceeded to downtown which was bussing again after the chaos of the previous day. Lux decided to just waste the day walking around and enjoying herself and just not pay attention for once.

          Janna, once she finally dragged herself out of bed, decided to head down to the arcade and just waste her day. Once she got her bag together, she decided to instead just walk around the mall. Looking through the many shops that she would normally enjoy, she couldn't help thinking in the back of her mind that something bad was going to happen, but eventually she decided to just push it from her mind. Eventually seeing Garen and Jayce, she spent the rest of the day dodging them.

          Poppy for her part spent the day with her father in his workshop. Somehow hammering things was rather enjoyable to her and so was spending time with her dad. Most of the day for them was spent in front of a hot forge working on one of his commissions. More than once she was tempted to drag out her hammer to help, but realized that it would probably destroy it. While working with her father, she saw a few things that he did, that she might be able to use while combating the monsters they kept facing.

          While Lux was downtown, she also noticed the police taking down more collectors using devices, which apparently Vel'Koz had finished. Several small crowds formed whenever one was identified. Lux took an interest in two of them but then decided to just keep walking. It was only after she noticed Vel'Koz at one of the take downs did she actually come over again. Vel'Koz took note of her but stayed where he was.

          'It is worse than I thought. They are everywhere but many of them weren't activated. I was also able to find a way to detect them directly. I've also managed to install a few of our detectors while I've been around.' He said in private thought while Lux remembered how to do this.

          'Right. Well I guess it's better than not knowing. What's the count up to?' She asked in reply.

          'Right now, about 30, most of them were the ones that were shot out yesterday but there were also several that were missed and appeared empty. The amount of energy that was siphoned is unknown.' Vel'Koz said as he kept an eye on one that still had a full orb.

          'Well at least we stopped this one.' Lux turned to go, when something caught her eye. She turned her head, then dived out of the way behind a tree. Kha'Zix and Rek'Sai burst out and launched an attack against the team taking down the device. Lux tied to find a secluded spot to transform, but she couldn't in the renewed chaos. Instead she turned to face Vel'Koz and Nasus, who were facing Kha'Zix and Rek'Sai.

          "So we finally find you. Here of all places, and helping them no less. You have betrayed all of us. Your past, your home, and your kin." Rek'Sai spat.

          "Really? I have found a new home, where people accept me for who and what I am. None of you really accepted me. You all thought I was useless because I was only interested in learning new things about the universe around us." Vel'Koz replied. Lux noticed his tentacles tensing. Lux noticed people were now watching the exchange and finally managed to dive out of the way and into a nearby alley that had no security cameras and no one there.

          "Exactly. Our goal is to bring the portal back and bring more of us here. This universe will be ours." Kha'Zix said as he flexed his wings.

          "Did you forget why we were banished in the first place, or need I remind you?" Vel'Koz said as he kept switching between them.

          "You always took great pleasure in reminding us, so how about we skip that and I just take you two out. Then we will find the guardians, destroy them, and then no one will stop us." Rek'Sai said as she tensed her body ready to leap.

          "Over my dead body." Vel'Koz said, as Nasus grabbed his staff, the crowd ran for cover, and the police in the area formed a parameter.

          "That can be arranged." Kha'Zix snarled as he leaped, but quickly found himself and Rek'Sai frozen in place. Then a shimmering light burst in their face, and they were quickly hit with several bots. Kha'Zix roared in rage as he turned to see Lux jumping into the battle and landing perfectly in front of Vel'Koz and Nasus.

          "Try it. I dare you." Lux said as she stood up and her hand tightened on her baton. Kha'Zix and Rek'Sai knew that they were probably now in trouble as Lux was powerful on her own, but the other two guardians were probably on their way. Turning to each other, they just nodded, and charged.

          Lux threw another binding, catching Kha'Zix while Vel'Koz threw one of his powers, knocking the bug up. He then threw energy from his tentacles. Rek'Sai meanwhile charged right at Nasus, who just knocked her back with his staff, before bringing it down on her head. Both voidlings roared and charged again, only to be knocked up by a gust of wind. Lux turned to see Janna rushing towards the battle from the flank and after gripping her staff, threw another twister at the two.

          Rek'Sai turned to attack Janna, only to be slowed down by Zephyr and Nasus who moved to join the Guardian. Lux and Vel'Koz dueled with Kha'Zix who kept jumping around and throwing his spikes everywhere, hitting more than a few storefronts. Luckily the police managed to take cover behind their cars and avoided injury. Lux during the heat of the fight, while dodging another series of spikes from Kha'Zix, saw Caitlyn and Vi setting up on the parameter.

          As Kha'Zix tried again to leap to Vel'Koz, Lux threw a singularity while Vel'Koz was able to dodge out of the way. The singularity exploded in Kha'Zix's face and he turned to Lux. Lux threw a binding to keep him at bay but missed. She threw her barrier to protect herself and dropped to her knees, but just as Kha'Zix was about to connect, he suddenly was flying in the other direction. Lux turned to see Poppy swing her hammer and connecting with the giant bug.

          Rek'Sai for her part, wasn't doing much better. After dodging around Nasus and Janna, she tried to get in a hit, but whenever she went for either Janna or Nasus, Nasus would hit her with her hammer, and Janna would shield and throw another twister. Or she would throw Zephyr to slow her down. Rek'Sai finally managed to get an opening and she flew past Nasus to strike directly at Janna. Just as she was about to strike, Rek'Sai was thrown back into Nasus, who brought his staff down on her head, then she was hit back again, and right into Kha'Zix who was likewise hit by Poppy. The two collided with a hard thud.

          Once Kha'Zix and Rek'Sai managed to get to their feet, it was not the 4v2 fight, now it was a 8v2. Lux, Janna, Poppy, Debonair, Vel'Koz, Nasus, Caitlyn, and Vi were surrounding them.

          "Ok you two. Enough is enough. You two are going to be stopping all of this mess. Even you two can't overpower all of us." Lux tightened her hand on her baton as she spoke. Kha'Zix and Rek'Sai just turned to each other, then launched right at Vel'Koz, who just dodged out of the way. The rest reacted by trying to stop the two from getting away, but none of them succeeded as they ripped open a portal and fled.

          "Well, at least the damage was limited to property. Mostly." Caitlyn said, but added as she turned to Lux who just shot her a glare. "I'll continue working to try and remove these things as I don't think they will be back for a while."

          "I don't think so either. However, I do need to talk to you." Lux responded and turned to Debonair, who just looked confused. "Your weapon, it clearly is effective against the void. If at all possible, could you allow Vel'Koz to take a few scans of it? It might help out everyone else." Lux said, almost with a bit of desperation in her voice. Debonair looked from his weapon to Lux to Vel'Koz for a few minutes. Finally he smiled.

          "If it means we all can be more effective, sure." Debonair followed Vel'Koz back to his lab with Nasus while Lux, Janna, and Poppy assisted in cleaning up the mess that was created. While it was clear that their help wasn't needed, they stayed anyway until Caitlyn basically said leave and that they would handle it. They headed to the Lab where they found Debonair leaving and Vel'Koz running over all of the scans he took. As the team entered, after making sure Debonair was out of the building, and that he didn't leave anything just in case, the three of them powered down.

          "So learn anything?" Janna asked as she took a seat at the table. Poppy was clearly more interested in pacing while Lux joined Janna at the table.

          "Yes actually. His tech is based on work that was being done during the first war. If he did this himself, then he's a genius, but my suspicion is that he finished the work of another. Either way, it won't help the three of you much, but it will help the police and others like them. I can also use the tech to make an armor that will help the police resist the attacks better, which I'm sure they will be grateful for. However, your magic will adapt to these new void things. I took another look at your magic and compared it to the magic recorded during the first war, and there are some changes. Look here." Vel'Koz brought up his research on a monitor.

          "Here on the left is the magic during the first war, the one where Janna and the rest of her team fought." Janna just lowered her head and looked away, clearly there were still some bad memories there. "And this is your magic today. Since Janna was here during both wars, I was able to compare her magics directly and you see the difference." Lux and Poppy looked carefully and there were differences.

          "What do you think caused it?" Poppy asked climbing onto a chair to get a better look. Even Janna came over despite her clear reservations.

          "My guess would be that the Guardian powers didn't get recycled into the main Guardian network. As you know, when Star Guardians pass on their powers, one way or the other," all three shuddered when the word "other" was mentioned, "they are passed to someone new. However, because of the magic barriers around this world, they didn't. Instead, they settled back into our world, and were eventually reborn in Lux and Poppy here. Along with the other two we haven't found yet."

          "So because they stayed here, they changed, evolved, mutated or something along those lines because of the magic here?" Janna asked as she now was taking a closer look at the screen.

          "That would be my guess." Vel'Koz answered. He turned to another screen. "My guess is that your powers will be constantly changing and evolving, especially after we find the two missing Guardians and build your full team. I suspect that is why you are being so effective and why Malzahar is having issues. This latest setback will cause him to attack soon I think, and it won't be a pretty one. He will aim to gather enough energy to do either serious damage, or bring down the barriers entirely."

          "How bad are they now?" Lux asked, trying to hide a note of panic in her voice.

          "They aren't whole again, but they aren't as damaged as they could have been had we not done that ritual. We will need another one before too long to try and keep them up until we can finish my other plan." Vel'Koz quickly turned to leave, but Janna blocked the door.

          "What other plan?" She asked. Vel'Koz just sunk to the floor.

          "I know you three want to know, but for now I can't tell you. I don't want to get your hopes up if I can't do it. So please honor this…" he said trying to find a way past Janna, but to no avail.

          "Vel'Koz, just tell us. A plan is a plan, and how often does plan A work?" Poppy said, putting her hand on one of his tentacles. Vel'Koz turned his main eye to the yordle and smiled. So to speak.

          "Very well. Using the adaptations in the magic learned from you three, along with more tricks, we might be able to build newer and better versions of the barriers, ones that Malzahar can't break down, or at least not as easily. There is a problem however." He paused as the three looked at him. "We would have to take down the current barriers in order to do it. So we have to give him a target he can't resist. I'm working to try and give him that target, but again I don't know if we can pull it off."

          "Well that's still something to try and go for. If there is anything we can do to help, let us know." Janna said as she stepped aside. Vel'Koz floated out of his lab with a bit more hope than before. The tragedy that he saw in the making wasn't so. All three of them understood the challenges and all three were willing to wait. He went back to his office to send a message.

* * *

 

          "Well the two of you failed at your jobs. You were supposed to acquire energy and you failed at the amount previously requested. However, you both did accomplish something, you have found out what happened to our soon to be late friend. Vel'Koz has betrayed us and it explains a lot about what's been happening. Where is he on the planet?" Malzahar was float pacing in the throne room.

          "He's at a massive library complex that is shielded against us. Attacking it would be foolish and a waste of time. He didn't use the facilities defenses before, but he has them up now." Kha'Zix reponsded, while holding one of his bladed arms.

          "Well they will probably have many of our collectors within a week. Everyone get to as many as possible and drain them. We will need all of the energy we can get." Malzahar turned to the rest of his command team.

          "Sir. We have already done that and found that many of them were full. We have more energy that we expected. More than enough for another assault. We just need to prepare for it." Cho'Gath responded clearly pleased with himself. Even Kog'Maw, who is usually trying to find something to eat was beaming with pride.

          "Very well Cho'Gath. You acted without me, but anticipated what needed to be done. I applaud that. Meanwhile, help these two heal up. Rek'Sai you are going back and you need to have a plan."

          "I already do my Prophet." Rek'Sai said, before wincing at the pain that was inflicted earlier. Both she and Kha'Zix limped off to the healing vats while Malzahar turned to the planet diagram and looked at the damaged Magic Barriers and began plotting their destruction.

* * *

 

          As the day ended, Lux found herself looking up at the moon, imaging what Malzahar was planning.

          "Cheer up there Lux. You three did more than you thought you could today. Everyone is proud of you." Dorcha said as she hopped up next to her.

          "I know, but still this isn't over yet, and only seems to be getting worse. I know this is what I signed up for, but every now and then, I feel like it's too much." Lux buried her head in her arms and a single tear escaped her eye.

          "Don't worry about it. Every Guardian goes through this at some point. Usually multiple times. It isn't easy but there is an advantage." Solas said as he joined his partner and Lux. Lux just picked her head up with a confused look on her face. "You look great doing it."

          That did it. Lux fell back on her bed laughing while Dorcha fell off the windowsill and onto the floor laughing as well. Solas chucked at his own joke.

          "Well it is fashionable." Lux said after finally managing to calm down. "So to another day then, and hopefully more teammates soon." Lux said as she crawled into bed. Dorcha and Solas settled down next to her for hopefully a few days of quiet.


	19. Cooler Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the recent battle, the Guardians have expected some down time, however the down time seems to be getting to them. Time off leads to its own issues, and will the Guardians sense the latest threat or will their down time affect them too much?

           After a week of quiet, it was actually, almost possible, to forget about everything except being normal. Lux, Janna, and Poppy were still training but now were beginning to grow worried. A long time span between attacks was never a good thing, and with it, almost a week now, the three of there were a little on edge to say the least. They were always on the lookout for something, but all of them were getting jumpy with even the small things.

 

           “Lux? Lux!” Janna poked Lux in the arm repeatedly, but it took a pretty good punch to knock Lux out of her trance.

 

           “What?! Sorry. My mind is just wander around.” She said turning back to the ice cream in front of her.

 

           “That was obvious. Your eyes were glazed over and you blatantly ignored several questions and topics that you usually can’t wait to comment on.” Poppy was glaring while trying to keep a straight face.

 

           “Sorry. It’s just…it’s been a week since the last attack,” Lux dropped her voice so they wouldn’t be overheard, “and the last time that happened, it was bad.” She sank back into her chair a little more as she sighed heavily. Janna and Poppy also sank back and realized they were all thinking the same thing. Everything was so tense and while they were able to relax earlier in the week, it was a lot harder now because they knew something was coming.

 

           “How about we just enjoy our ice cream, mainly because it will melt, for now and then move on” Janna said after a few minutes. The others just nodded. The small sugar rush that came with finishing also helped. Once they were done, they headed to leave, but as they exited the shop, they immediately regretted it. As they exited, the wave of the hot season hit them. It was hotter out than it was just week ago and it only seemed to be getting hotter. Just as they all parted ways, Vel’Koz called them all and asked them to come to the tower. The three of them just wished he had sent Nasus with the van, with its AC.

 

           Once they got to the tower, the mood didn’t get any better as they saw a somber Vel’Koz hovering over the projection of Runeterra. He turned when the Guardians entered, any hope that this wouldn’t be as bad as they thought, were immediately dashed.

 

           “I’m sorry to pile more bad news on your three, but I finally managed to figure out how much energy Rek’Sai got away with, and it isn’t good.” Lux, Janna, and Poppy, expecting the worst, just took a seat at the table and Lux nodded once she noticed that they were ready. Vel’Koz sighed and continued. “Malzahar has enough energy stored to do serious damage to the barriers around the planet. We lucked out last time, but this time we may not be so lucky. The only good news that I have is that if he does as bad of an attack that he wants, he will face a serious crisis on his hands.”

 

           “OK…how is that good news?” Lux asked as the three Guardians just looked confused.

 

           “It means he’ll need more energy if he wants to attack. Not to mention he probably had to use quite a bit to heal Rek’Sai and Kha’Zix after your last fight. My theory right now is that he will likely have to commit another major attack if he wants to do as much damage as he wants to. I’ve also began preparations to do another reinforcement ritual just in case.” Vel’Koz paused for a second as he saw the three Guardians perk up, even if it was just a little bit.

 

           “So just be on the lookout then?” Poppy asked as she jumped down.

 

           “Yes. I’m sure that they will try something soon. They want to bring more stuff to the surface, and more powerful stuff at that. Because of that, another attack on the barriers is inevitable. We need to be ready when it does happen.” That brought all of them to what Vel’Koz had said a week ago about a system to replace and rebuild the barriers. They knew that all of their hopes would rest on that. Vel’Koz hovered around for a minute waiting for a response, but when he got none, he just hovered out. The Guardians stayed for a few minutes until they realized that Vel’Koz had gone.

 

           “Let’s go then and try to get some sleep. Sounds like we’ll be needing it sooner or later.” Lux said as she took note. With that, they three of them got up and headed home. With school currently out for a recess for a few weeks, at least fighting would be easier. Well, if the three of them forgot about all of the homework they had been assigned. They all just groaned to themselves as they thought about it.

* * *

 

           That night, Rek’Sai was pacing in her den planning her next attack when a portal opened. Rek’Sai grabbed a rock and prepared to throw it, but dropped it as she saw who it was. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit Cho’Gath?”

 

           “I’m here under orders, but I also came with some advice, so let’s get the official stuff out of the way. With the season change, and rather dramatically at that, finding something to get energy from shouldn’t be difficult. Malzahar needs more energy if he wants to do what he wants, and either way, it is good to have a reserve, which is almost depleted. But we also need to get more powerful things here, meaning another barrier assault is on the horizon.”

 

           Cho’Gath continued. “My bit of advice is take what we know about the Guardians and use it against them. We know that they can sense our activities through a sense of cold running through their bodies. Now they have been able to find a way to hid that for now, but hiding your energy collecting in a place already cold might through them off just long enough to get what you need.” With that, Cho’Gath opened a portal, and fed back through it. Rek’Sai resumed pacing until she realized what he meant, and with dawn fast approaching, she burrowed and headed to a target she knew might work.

* * *

 

           The following morning all three Guardians awoke to a sense of cold, and given the hot day outside, it wasn’t due to the weather. Still, it ironically allowed three of them to relax a bit as they knew their next target had arrived and now all they had to do was track it. When they entered the tower however they realized that would be easier said than done. Considering the warm season, air conditioners and magic cooling spells were everywhere a local temperature drop was hard to find as there were too many to track.

 

           “Well that’s great. I guess we’ll just have to watch and wait. Except I’m not very good at waiting so I suggest we start exploring the city.” Poppy started walking towards the door. Lux and Janna just looked at each other, shrugged, then followed Poppy out. Normally they would wait for Vel’Koz to show up, or at least Nasus, but they figured being proactive about this might just solve a lot of their problems.

 

           Leaving the tower with a map of the most drastic lows, they began a search of the city. It was also made readily apparent why they didn’t see Vel’Koz or Nasus in the tower. Construction crews were still active around the city still taking down energy collectors, and many of them were empty. More like destroyed as people started talking about them, they found more. Clearly Rek’Sai would need a serious attack to get the energy she needed. While the cold they were looking for was different than the cold from an air conditioner, they weren’t able to find anything.

 

           “We’ve been walking for 3 hours already and investigated most of the sites on our list. Can we at least get something to eat if this is going to continue?” Lux said as she leaned against a building. Her voice was almost desperate. Poppy turned around and seeing Janna in a similar state, relented.

 

           “Ok. There’s an ice cream shop nearby that was also on the list. Let’s check it out and enjoy it while we are there in case anything happens.” Poppy started walking away as she talked and Lux and Janna just rolled their eyes and followed. Once inside, they almost regretted their choice. It was absolutely freezing inside. The employees were in long sleeves so they at least were comfortable, but knowing this chain in particular, it was odd. Poppy’s sense was already going crazy, but Lux and Janna were just cold.

 

           “What’s with the temperature? It’s freezing in here?” Lux asked a passing employee.

 

           “New orders from corporate. Our manager isn’t very happy and she’s made everyone aware of it.” He replied and headed into the back. Lux turned and caught sight of the manager who was looking over a clipboard and had this scowl on his face. Clearly not happy with what he had to do. He was just looking at everyone clearly freezing.

 

           “Excuse me but can we turn up the temperate please?” Lux took another look at another customer and the manager just hung his head.

 

           “I’m sorry ma’am. These are the orders from corporate. Trust me, I wish there was something I could do but I’ve already been yelled at once today for doing just that. This entire thing is stupid and you have my apologies.” He responded bowing his head.

 

           “Well it is bringing them in isn’t it?” She asked.

 

           “The only positive of this” he replied before going back to his job. Lux took a seat and tried to think of warm things while Janna got their ice cream. It was clear that people were enjoying it, especially with the heat outside, but clearly wasn’t resonating with the employees. As Janna came back with the ice cream, Poppy turned to the others and lowered her voice.

 

           “Well this explains the cold zone that we detected. Still we’ve looked at a lot of places and found nothing today so what next?” Poppy finished and turned to Lux who just sat back in her chair thinking. Eventually she just shook her head.

 

           “I don’t know. Maybe this is one we are going to have to wait out and see where things start happening. We know they need energy but another large scale attack like what they have been doing will just instantly draw us right to them.” Lux just sat back in her chair and finished her ice cream while Janna and Poppy took the hint and for once relaxed.

 

           They spent some time relaxing before they knew that they had to leave. Also the fact a massive line appeared out of nowhere and the manager just hung her head while she got behind the counter. Lux, Janna, and Poppy, knowing the heat outside, left before they were unable to with the people pressing in. Once outside, with few options, and with it approaching dinner time, they all headed home.

 

           The topic of conversation at all three dinner tables was the lack of attacks for the last week. Both Janna and Poppy were just able to lazily gloss over the conversation and ignore most of it. Lux however, wasn’t so lucky.

 

           “Yeah at the stations, everyone is nervous beyond belief, especially after what happened last time there was this much of a gap. Everyone is nervous and even Caitlyn isn’t doing a good job of hiding it.” Lux just listened absentmindedly as her father spoke while Garen hung on every word he said.

 

           “But you are in communication with Vel’Koz aren’t you? And isn’t he in contact with the Guardians?” Garen asked as he was practically jumping out of his seat.

 

           “Yes we are and he his, but no one is saying anything. He said the Guardians are investigating something, but current conditions, I think that is what he said, make it difficult. Lux? Are you ok?” Lux almost jumped in her chair but turned her head and looked down at her plate. It was barely touched. She turned to her father.

 

           “Yeah I guess I’m not as hungry as I thought I was. I’m also a bit tired from walking around today.” Lux made to get up but a look from her mother made her sit back down. She knew that she wouldn’t be going anywhere until she finished. “Ok I’ll finish” Lux said quietly.

 

           “Good. Then you can head up to bed. It’s Garen’s night to do the dishes.” Mrs. Crownguard said turning to her son.

 

           “But last night was…oh.” Garen went several shades of red when he realized he forgot, now it was his for the rest of the week. “Great.”

 

           “Later bro. Enjoy.” Lux summoned the energy to run up the stairs laughing while Garen just hung his head in defeat while their mother scolded him with the look that all mothers have and you can’t ignore. Once in her room, Lux kicked off her shoes and made to settle down before Dorcha hopped onto her lap.

 

           “Any progress?” She asked, but instead of waiting for an answer, she immediately hopped off. That got Lux’s attention and she turned to look at her and Solas, who was likewise keeping a distance.

 

           “What?” Lux asked, now looking very concerned. She was also fighting off the weariness that she was feeling in the process.

 

           “You have the energy of the void on you. Didn’t you notice it?” Dorcha said. That finally snapped Lux out of her stupor and she jumped up and made her way to her nightstand. Pulling out her pen, she immediately shut off her lights, to make it look like she went to sleep, and opened a portal to the tower, grabbing Dorcha and Solas as she headed through.

 

           Lux found the tower deserted and she entered the Library knowing it was closed and the staff was gone. She quickly made her way to Vel’Koz’s office only to find Nasus there doing some work. He looked up as she entered. “Lux what are you…what’s wrong?” He immediately picked up on her seriousness and put down his work.

 

           “Where’s Vel” Lux asked, clearly in a hurry.

 

           “In his lab. This way. Care to fill me in.” Nasus said as he escorted her to Vel’Koz’s lab in the basement.

 

           “How about I just tell it once.” Lux said, and Nasus, after thinking for a second nodded. They entered Vel’Koz’s lab to find him working over several things, but he turned immediately as they entered, grabbing a device as he almost sped to Lux. He took a couple of quick scans and immediately started plugging away on a computer.

 

           “Please do tell me what happened.” He said, not looking up from his work, but also making himself willing to hear.

 

           Lux took a breath and started. “Well, the three of us decided to go walking around the city investigating those temperature drops, but we found nothing. Or at least nothing obvious. We visited a lot of places, I lost track around 30 before we gave up and headed home. Until Dorcha said something, I didn’t even notice. I thought I was just tired from the heat and walking around.” Lux finished as she sat down. Nasus quickly put a can of soda in front of her and Lux nodded a thanks.

 

           “Yes. The energy was subtle. I really didn’t notice it until I hopped into her lap. Wherever they were, it was either early, or it wasn’t very strong.” Dorcha said while Solas just nodded in agreement. Vel’Koz waved a tentacle and continued to work for another minute before he turned.

 

           “I believe it was the latter. A small, but lingering charge that will slowly drain energy into the collectors that we haven’t found yet. This is really good thinking on her part, but collecting everything will be the challenge. However, take a bit from everyone, especially in this heat, it will make it seem more like heat exhaustion rather than energy drain. Clever girl.” Lux and Nasus both just rolled their eyes as Vel’Koz grabbed a sheet of paper and hovered over to the table where Lux sat.

 

           “Try and write down every place you were, or at least the ones you can remember and try and get Janna and Poppy here. Or maybe just Poppy.” Vel’Koz quickly added as Janna and Zephyr walked in.

 

           “I’m guessing Dorcha and Solas sensed it too?” Janna asked as she sat down at the table. Lux was on the phone trying to get in touch with Poppy but nodded in reply.

 

           “She’s not answering. You try.” Lux said as she got Poppy’s voicemail for the second time. Janna grabbed her phone and dialed. On the second try she got a clearly groggy Poppy.

 

           “What is it?” She sounded almost like her father, which took Janna aback for a second.

 

           “You want to come down to the tower and then to Vel’Koz’s lab quickly. Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr sensed void energy onus and we are trying to figure out where it came from.” A small thud was heard through the phone.

 

           “I’m on my way.” Suddenly the adrenaline kicked in and not more than 5 minutes later, Poppy was strolling through the door with her map from earlier in hand. She laid it on the table and the three Guardians worked quickly to get their route for the day, but that was easier said than done. While they all agreed about where they went, they all disagreed about the order they went in. Eventually the discussion came so heated that Lux just pushed back from the table and started walking around. Janna and Poppy got the hint and calmed down.

 

           Once they all calmed down a bit, Lux returned to the table and drew three routes that they all seemed to agree on as the most likely routes. They all agreed to trace each of the routes tomorrow, but for now, they would all get some sleep. Making quick plans, they all quickly made their way back to their rooms and got some sleep. The night passed in relative quiet but the following morning the all felt the cold from the void energy that is present. And for Lux, not even thinking, coming downstairs in a hoodie in the middle of the warm season got more than a few stares from her family. She quickly pulled it off and threw it upstairs with a grin that got her family’s eyes rolling.

 

           As the three set out on their routes, they knew they would overlap and planned signals in case they found something. However, after a few hours none of them came across anything unusual. They met up outside the ice cream shop and still nothing. However, seeing the line, they headed to another shop nearby to get a fix before they headed back to the library. All three of them ate in silence as they grew frustrated with their hunt.

 

           Once they were back at the library, all three were quickly scanned and contained only trace amounts of void energy. “Well what did you three miss?” Dorcha asked as she turned between the three of them.

 

           “Well we did go everywhere that we did yesterday and nothing. Just the usual trace from the prevalence of it right now.” Lux sat back into a chair and sighed as she racked her brain for anything different.

 

           “Actually there was something different.” Janna said and everyone turned to her. “We didn’t go into that ice cream shop.” Lux and Poppy just stared at Janna and then the flash of understanding ran across the three of them and they sprinted out of the library and towards the shop. When they got there, they found that it was more crowded than ever. The line was out the door, and around the corner, half a block down. Janna decided to try and get a closer look and eventually bumped into Garen and Jayce who were just leaving.

 

           “Ok you two, what is going on? There wasn’t a line like this yesterday.” Janna pressed them and she crossed her arms. Lux and Poppy quickly hid themselves to avoid being spotted.

 

           “Well it’s like an ice box in there. It is so cold that it is drawing people in. Apparently some new thing and while the employees and manger don’t seem happy, everyone else is. Prices are still the same however, but people are staying longer, especially with this heat.” Garen said as he walked away, clearly regretting leaving the shop and started heading back home. Lux and Poppy, once they were sure that Garen, and Jayce were out of sight, rejoined Janna.

 

           “Well that was weird, but I got what we needed.” Janna pulled a device from her pocket as she spoke, and it was one of Vel’Koz’s void detectors. “I managed to get a good reading on the two of them, and look.” Lux took the device from Janna and only needed a second to tell they found the source of the void energy.

 

           “Still, it is weird that they would choose a place like this. This chain has another store on the other side of town. I suggest we take a look at that one and make some comparisons.” Poppy said, as she took the device from Lux and after taking a quick look, handed it back to Janna. Meanwhile something dropped on Lux’s head, causing her to spin, and throw Dorcha into Janna, who managed to catch her.

 

           “Sorry. But the three of you took off so fast, that we didn’t get a chance to say something.” Dorcha kept her voice low as Janna handed her back to Lux, only to be replaced by Zephyr who settled on Janna shoulders. Solas, who was clearly out of breath, took a place on Poppy’s shoulder. “Vel’Koz advised checking out the other shops by this chain.”

 

           “We were about to do that.” Lux said, keeping her voice low as well. And they all turned and headed to a shop across town. When they got there, it was empty. Vacant would be a better term as the employees were sitting at a table doing nothing. The manager stood up as they entered.

 

           “Sorry, but the one with the AC cranked up to 11 is downtown. We aren’t doing that here.” He said. Lux, Janna, and Poppy just looked confused at each other.

 

           “Um, we are just looking for some ice cream and we didn’t feel like waiting in that massive line.” Janna said after they all just looked at each other for a few minutes.

 

           “Oh. Sorry, but everyone said the manager there was telling them it was from corporate to crank the AC up that high, but when I checked they sent no such order.” The manager said as two of his employees got up and headed to the counter to help the three of them.

 

           “That’s what he told us when we went there yesterday.” Janna said as she picked out the two flavors she wanted. Lux and Poppy likewise did and they sat down where the manager was apparently curious.

 

           “Sorry to intrude on you three but is that really what he said?”

 

           “Yes. And that is what the employees believe as well. We weren’t sure, but we also weren’t waiting in that line.” Lux said as she paused to eat a bit.

 

           “That is interesting because something like that would come from corporate and most people just run out when they hear we won’t crank the AC up that high but there has to be something else if people are willing to wait in that line for hours.” The manager let his sentence trail off as he walked away while the employees went back to browsing on their phones. Lux, Janna, and Poppy sat there for a minute before they all just looked at each other in horror. All three of them knew exactly what the manager was talking about, and a quick look at Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr, they knew as well. The three of them quickly finished their ice cream and then sprinted out of the store running back downtown.

 

           When they arrived back at the other shop, it was just as packed as ever. Dorcha hopped down from Lux’s shoulder and moved closer, but she didn’t even have to get near to sense the void energy now radiating from the shop. She quickly rushed back to the Guardians. Solas instead hopped off and managed to somehow make his way in. The rest of the team waited and watched while he made his way around and 20 minutes later, he made his way back out of the shop and back to the team.

 

           “So yeah. It’s it, but I’m not convinced that it is the manager who is possessed. It seems to be one of the assistant managers who is regularly checking into the back. Finally, there seemed to be an incident where she couldn’t head back and I managed to sneak into the back room to find void collectors there. There were at least 4 that I saw and they seemed to be set on a low setting, but given everyone going in and out, they are getting a lot of energy.” Solas finished as he nudged himself into Lux’s arm to warm up.

 

           “So attacking now would be a bad idea?” Poppy asked, her hand already on her pendant.

 

           “Yes. Right now, there is little we can do as they are nearing closing time and an attack today would lead to more issues. I would suggest getting a good night sleep before we confront this. I would suggest tomorrow morning before they open. Should we alert the police?” Dorcha added as a side thought.

 

           “It probably would be a good idea. After all I’m sure they have a lot of issues with this place lately. I’ll go and discuss it with Caitlyn. She seems to trust me for some reason.” Lux said as she stood up and grabbed her locket.

 

           “Because you are the leader, and you act like it. Mostly.” Solas said, Lux just rolled her eyes and headed off. Janna and Poppy made for home, knowing that Lux wouldn’t want them with her. When Lux reached the police station, she carefully looked around and recognizing that she was clear, pulled her locket.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Lux settled back onto the ground as she was fully transformed, and turning to the pack she had, pulled the cloak she and the others now started carrying at all times, and put it on. She carefully walked across the parking lot, and into the station where she saw Vi in the lobby speaking to another officer. Lux just made her way to the windows where she just waited until she was done. Once she had finished, Vi walked over.

 

           “Guardian. You have more news that you wish to share?” Vi asked, keeping her voice low as she turned to the hooded figure next to her.

 

           “Yes actually. I’m sure you are aware of the extremely popular ice cream shop downtown?” Lux said, keeping her face to the window.

 

           “Yes. I’m assuming there is an issue with it?” Vi kept her voice low and steady, trying to keep her emotions in check.

 

           “Yes there is. It has been collecting void energy for a while now. We couldn’t sense it because of the lowered temperature in the place. They hid it well, but eventually it became too much. They aren’t taking a lot of energy from people. Small amounts but over time…” Lux let her voice trail off and Vi picked up right where she left off.

 

           “It adds up. So what do you need from us?” Vi kept her head forward, but let her eyes drift to the teenager next to her.

 

           “Just keep people safe when a fight does break out tomorrow. We don’t know how much energy they got but we can’t let it continue any more. We will be attacking tomorrow morning, hopefully before the line forms, but you will know when it happens.” Lux moved to go, knowing that Vi would be able to fill in the blanks, but Vi’s hand on her shoulder stopped her. Lux turned but kept the hood low.

 

           “Why are you three doing this? I mean we are trained, ok poor choice of words, but we are the ones who are supposed to handle this?” Vi actually showed concern, which was rare for her. Under the hood, Lux just smiled.

 

           “Because we were called to do it and we agreed. We knew what we were getting into and we knew what could happen. And we are ok with that.” Lux shifted her shoulders and Vi removed her hand. Lux turned and walked out, the heels on her boots clicking as she walked out. Lux managed to get out of Vi’s line of sight, but turned back to see a look of concern on her face. Lux also knew she lied about a few things. None of them knew what they were getting into, but they all knew the possible consequences. And she accepted that. That was more important than anything.

 

           Lux made her way back home and snuck into her bedroom and laid down for what was going to be a restless night sleep. Or so she thought. That night, because of all the void energy dropping the temperature, at least for them, she, Janna, and Poppy slept soundly. Their minds were racing but their bodies woke rested, which was probably for the best. When they woke however, the prevalence of void energy was so great, that any thought this would be an easy fight were quashed.

 

           The three of them met up near the shop, which already had a line, and they surveyed the area. The police where clearly there, but were keeping quiet about it. Knowing that no matter where they were, they would be discovered if they transformed, they had to move further away than they wanted to. After they found a good spot, Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr went up to made absolutely certain. The thee of them waited with baited breath while they searched, but Dorcha came back a few minutes later.

 

           “You three are clear. Now let’s get this monster.” She said as she hopped onto a low branch. Lux turned to Janna and Poppy and they nodded.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” The three of them, once they settled back onto the ground, quickly sped towards the shop, with Dorcha and Solas, running behind. Zephyr had transformed with Janna, and was more than content to ride on her shoulders. The fact he was also invisible helped. As they approached the shop, they made their way to where Vi was sitting. She did a better job than usual of blending in than she normally did. Still, despite everything, Lux still managed to take her by surprise.

 

           “A little warning would have been nice.” Vi said as she recovered after jumping to her feet.

 

           “Sorry, but we were trying to be stealthy. How’d we do?” Lux was clearly trying to contain her laughter and Vi relented.

 

           “Not bad, considering…” Vi let the sentence hang as she looked at the three of them. Poppy just rolled her eyes. “My plan was to get the civilians clear once you confirmed whatever it was that was causing this and then form a perimeter to try and keep things contained, but I know that won’t be easy.”

 

           “Wait a second. Where’s Caitlyn?” Janna was looking around for the Chief.

 

           “She’s up there.” Vi pointed over her shoulder to a building across from the shop and handed Lux a pair of binoculars. Lux took a quick look and even then it took a minute to find her. Caitlyn was clearly watching them as she waved when Lux finally had her location.

 

           “Ok then. Let’s get this underway.” Janna said while Lux and Poppy moved to flank outside and get whether or not their seeker was there. Making their way across the street was no easy task, but once they were behind the shop, the three of them quickly realized that only Poppy would be able to get in and out without being detected, so after a rolling of the eyes, she managed to get through a vent, with Solas following behind, and Lux and Janna waiting near the back door. The store was clearly empty of everyone but one person.

 

           “Yes mistress, the wealth of energy from this has been nothing but fruitful, but I fear the Guardians are closing in.” The seeker said as Poppy managed to keep herself in the shadows, but just barely.

 

           “True, but my concern is the police in the city. They are becoming aware of our tactics and it is only a matter of time until they catch on. We can only run this for a few more days at most before we must leave.” Rek’Sai said as she emerged from around a corner. Solas quickly hopped off Poppy’s shoulder and sprinted for the vent, trying to keep quiet as he did so, but somehow managed to knock something over. Rek’Sai and the seeker quickly rounded the corner, and Poppy barely managed to duck into a room while the rounded the corner and caught Solas.

 

           “Just a poro. They get into everything if you aren’t careful. I’ll just throw it outside as its energy isn’t worth taking. Too much refining needed.” The seeker moved to pick up Solas, who did a good job of trying to avoid being caught before he relented. Somehow Lux and Janna managed to find cover in the alley as Solas was unceremoniously thrown into it and the door closed behind him.

 

           “Well?” Janna asked, as she and Lux emerged from cover in another doorway.

 

           “They are in there all right. Poppy had to duck for cover because I messed up getting out undetected.” Solas said he hopped to Lux.

 

           “Why am I not surprised.” Dorcha could barely contain her laughter while Solas shot her a look.

 

           “Either way. Poppy will get the door open, then do your thing.” He said as he and Dorcha made for safety. Lux nodded, and while Janna covered the door, Lux made her way just far enough to be visible from Vi’s vantage point, and signaled her. Vi got the message and the police moved in, quickly and quietly. Just as Lux thought about going back to the door, she heard it open and shut quickly. Thinking fast, she made her way around to the front, where she saw officers moving the crowds away quickly. Lux took a position behind a police car outside the front door and she waited knowing the shop would be open soon.

 

           Just as the seeker stuck its head out to see where the opening employees were at, Lux, seeing the coast was clear, threw a binding followed by a few bolts. The seeker roared in anger, and quickly left its host and tried to charge at Lux, only to be hit by Poppy’s hammer into the wall of the shop.

 

           “Expecting someone else?” Janna asked, as she threw a twister that had the combined effect of shattering the front windows and door, while also throwing the seeker into the ceiling. The three of them ducked to avoid the flying glass while outside, the police likewise took cover.

 

           “So it seems our operation has been found out. No matter, you will not defeat me. No one has ever defeated the great Zaynia.” The seeker roared as she took her full height. Strangely humanoid, but with elongated features, she proved her agility as she moved quickly towards the back of the shop, while dodging attacks from all three Guardians. She then twisted around and fired at the three. The Guardians hit the deck as solid ice shards passed over their heads and imbedded in the squad car behind them. The officers that were behind it quickly made for the perimeter, clearly afraid of more flying ice.

 

           “What do you three think of my ice, perhaps you all just cool down.” Zaynia breathed deeply and shot out a cone of cold at the Guardians. Janna and Poppy managed to dive out of the way, but Lux got her leg frozen to the ground. Seeing this, Zaynia charged at Lux, only to impact Janna’s shield while Poppy knocked the seeker into yet another wall. Poppy then turned and wound up a strike to shatter the ice around Lux’s leg, only to have Lux knock her out of the way as she threw a binding to keep Zaynia at bay while Poppy tried again. However, it was futile as Zaynia charged again, necessitating a twister from Janna. So they settled into a fight where Poppy would charge and attempt to pin Zaynia while Janna kept Lux and Poppy shielded, and Lux kept throwing singularities and bindings, while trading with Janna on the shields.

 

           “You three can’t keep this up forever so I will just end it.” Zaynia breathed deeply and seeing this, Janna and Poppy dived out of the way again, and on her way down, Janna threw a shield at Lux, who also shielded herself. The ice didn’t progress any further, but it also didn’t go away. Zaynia seeing an opportunity charged at a now exposed Lux, only for a shattering to be heard and Zaynia falling onto the floor where Lux had just been pinned. Caitlyn had taken a shot that would not only shatter the ice around Lux’s leg, but also hit Zaynia. Lux somehow managed to roll out of the way and land on her feet while throwing a binding that kept Zaynia in place. Poppy, seeing the opportunity, charged forward and knocked the seeker outside and into the now heavily secured perimeter.

 

           Upon getting to her feet, Zaynia saw that she was fully surrounded but decided that the police were softer targets than the Guardians, and charged a car. Suddenly a large energy ball moving very rapidly came out of nowhere and slammed into her chest. This was quickly followed up by a hammer in the same spot, sending the seeker to the ground several feet away.

 

           “You three really should send invites to your parties. I hate being late.” Debonair said as he transformed his weapon back.

 

           “Well if we had a way to get in contact with you…” Janna said, letting the sentence hang. Debonair just shook his head.

 

           “Fair point. Now how about this?” He pointed to Zaynia, who was starting to get to her feet. Janna just nodded in response while Poppy and Lux took positions.

 

           “Ok that is enough from you. You have drawn enough energy from the people of this city and we are finally putting an end to it.” Lux said, keeping her stance steady to avoid revealing the amount of pain she was in from having her leg frozen. “We are the Star Guardians, sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you.”

 

           “Seriously? That’s your little speech?” Zaynia laughed, and Lux just smiled. Zaynia stopped laughing just long enough to see two hammers fly into her face from Poppy and Debonair. She flew backwards and into a wall, narrowly avoiding a police car. She roared in anger getting up only to have Lux throw and detonate a singularity in her face and Debonair throw an energy pulse through his gate device. Zaynia managed to dodge a follow up attack from Poppy, only to have Zephyr attach and slow her down enough for Janna to wind up a twister and knock her sky high, landing a few seconds later with audible thud.

 

           “Ok that does it.” Poppy sung her hammer above her head, let it twirl for a few seconds, then brought it back down knocking Zaynia into the air again, and back into the building, where she collided with the wall with a sickening thud and slumped down to the bottom. Lux was about to charge up her spark, when she felt Rek’Sai approaching. Remaining still until the last possible second, Lux dived out of the way as Rek’Sai emerged swinging her claws in the air, only to be checked by Poppy into a police car, leaving a door unusable as a result.

 

           “Just when I thought this would be easy. Oh well. More things to hit.” Poppy said, swinging her hammer again, knocking Rek’Sai into a nearby building, where she slumped against the ground, clearly knocked out. Zaynia, seeing that, roared and charged at Poppy, connecting with a few ice fists. Just when it looked promising, Poppy smiled, causing Zaynia to briefly pause, then get slammed into another police car with Janna’s monsoon. Lux threw a binding to keep her in place, and channeled her powers. Poppy and Janna both dived out of the way, along with the nearby police.

 

           “Final Spark!” Lux threw her energy forward into its beam, causing the usual result of void monsters. “Dusted. Now for the other one.” Lux said as she landed. Strangely, her spark, despite passing clean through the police car, left no visible damage. Which was apparently just as surprising to everyone else, who were clearly expecting and explosion.

 

           While they left the police to deal with the two damaged cars, the Guardians and Debonair surrounded Rek’Sai as she started to stir. The voidling slowly got to her feet and after looking up, she knew that her number was punched. She was literally and figuratively surrounded.

 

           “It’s over. You have lost. Submit and you will be treated with respect. Fail, and we will not be so nice.” Lux said. Clearly her anger was overriding her usual calm, but Janna, Poppy, and Debonair, along with the numerous police officers around them, seemed to care. Rek’Sai pulled herself up a little more, but knowing she was done, sighed and slumped back to the floor.

 

           “It seems that I am finally beaten. Very well. I surrender.” A split second later, she lunged at Lux, who seemed to have expected the attack, and ducked, resulting in Rek’Sai flying over the Guardian, and then getting hit with a binding when she landed. Poppy and Debonair, took advantage of the opportunity to slam Rek’Sai again with their hammers and knock her into one of the already damaged cruisers where the voidling again slumped to the ground. Lux, recovered enough, readied her powers, only to be slammed into the ground as a void portal opened above them.

 

           “It seems that my minions constantly underestimate you four, and that is really getting annoying. However, we are not done, and soon you will be.” Malzahar rushed at Lux, only fall from the sky a few seconds later. A loud echo sounded and Lux knew what had happened. Caitlyn, ever the patient and accurate marksman, had fired, doing serious damage to the void leader. Rek’Sai, getting to her feet, somehow, roared, dived towards Malzahar, grabbed him, then attempted to vanish through a portal. Lux, however, was quicker.

 

           Throwing a binding, she rooted the two voidlings in place. Poppy then charged at the two of them pinning them to a wall, while Janna charged a twister and threw it. Lux for her part charged up her powers, focused, and threw everything she had at the two voidlings. “Final Spark!” The laser beam from her baton was so bright, that even she was blinded by it. Lux touched back down and struggled to catch her breath. Janna, Poppy, and Debonair moved closer to Malzahar and Rek’Sai, who were somehow still alive. Once Lux caught her breath, she stood up and walked over.

 

           “It’s over you two. Surrender now. You are beaten.” Lux’s voice betrayed her emotions, but no one seemed to notice. Malzahar was clearly unconscious, but Rek’Sai moved, slowly, to position herself between the Guardians and her prophet. She roared, or at least tried, to show defiance, but she knew that she was outgunned and finally outnumbered. Realizing this, she just hung her head. Lux nodded to Janna and Poppy but before they could even move, the two of them were knocked into the air, and a loud roar was heard from the alley.

 

           A large and foreboding creature emerged from the shadows, causing Poppy and Debonair to back up. Janna and Lux readied with their shields. The monster roared again and somehow threw all four of them into the air, and they all slammed back down. Hard. “The four of you are capable, and it is unfortunate that many choose to underestimate you. So take this day as yours, but this fight is far from over.” The creature ripped open a portal and dragged Malzahar and Rek’Sai through it.

 

           The Guardians and Debonair turned to each other, and just nodded. Debonair took off while the Guardians turned to the police. Vi came out from behind another police car and approached the team.

 

           “You three ok? Where’s the other one?” She asked as the Guardians stopped in front of her.

 

           “He’s gone and probably good. So what’s the damage?” Lux said, with a strained face as she looked at the damage to the police cars and other things.

 

           “Don’t worry about that. Considering everything, you three managed to minimize damage and we could always use a few new cars. I’ll smooth things over with Caitlyn but again, you three did good. Now get out of here.” Vi said as she turned to see Caitlyn approaching. Lux, Janna, and Poppy didn’t need telling twice and they sped off for the library. Arriving there, they powered down and headed into Vel’Koz’s lab.

 

           “You three should be proud of yourselves after what you did today. You managed to hold your own against a lot more than you were expected to. Your team is still incomplete, but hopefully we can make progress on that soon.” Dorcha said.

 

           “Yeah. The three of you worked together well and adapted to the situation as you needed to. We are all proud of you.” Solas followed up.

 

           “Thanks, now what happened with that?” Lux asked as she, Janna, and Poppy took a seat at the table in the center of the lab.

 

           “That thing was called Cho’Gath. He was one of the void leaders, but now he listens to Malzahar. Sometimes willingly, sometimes by respect, and other times, because there is no better plan. He is immensely powerful, and can easily fight the three of you. If you are going to face him again, then you are going to need your full team.” Vel’Koz said as his voice betrayed his emotions.

 

           “And we need to refocus on finding the other two Guardians and figure out their overall plan. However, the biggest threat right now is how much energy they got away with and how much they will use to heal Malzahar and Rek’Sai. Vel, how much could you estimate?” Nasus turned to his longtime friend who quickly busied himself with making calculations. Lux, Janna, Poppy, and Nasus played a card game while they waited. Eventually Vel’Koz floated over and he was clearly worried.

 

           “It’s bad. Even with the amount of energy it will likely take to heal those two, they made off with an enormous amount of energy. Enough to do serious damage to the barriers. I have no doubt that he will attempt another attack against them soon, and unless we manage to repair them to the same extent as before, the damage will be critical.” Vel’Koz was hovering so low, that he was almost on the ground.

 

           “Well then, we’ll just have to be on the defense for when that happens, but we also have to keep an eye on everything. Rek’Sai will be back, and with a vengeance.” Janna said. The others just nodded. They all silently agreed to just call it there and be prepared for the future.

* * *

           On the moon, Cho’Gath was frustrated. Malzahar made the right move, but he also miscalculated the people on the planet. Ironic since he was from said planet. As Malzahar awoke from his sleep with the void energy infused into him, he sat up quickly.

 

           “How bad?” He turned to Cho’Gath.

 

           “Not as bad as I thought. That guardian’s power was great, but since their team is incomplete, it wasn’t as powerful as it should have been. Still, I can’t fault your actions, but you underestimated the people of the planet.” Cho’Gath let the sentence hang.

 

           “Indeed I did and that is my mistake. I cannot make the same mistake again. Still, that woman was a good shot. This is going to hurt for a while won’t it?” Malzahar looked at the scar from Caitlyn’s bullet.

 

           “Yes it will.” Cho’Gath responded. He drew breath to continue, but Malzahar cut him off.

 

           “It will serve as a reminder to myself. What about Rek’Sai?” Malzahar took to hovering again, but clearly still in pain.

 

           “I really wish you would rest but I also know that you won’t. Follow me.” Cho’Gath lead the Prophet to the regeneration room. Rek’Sai was sitting in a pool of energy clearly in pain, but also getting better.

 

           “She will have to be ready soon. There is something that I need her to do before we can unleash another barrier assault. We need a distraction, and I’m sure she can deliver it.” Malzahar in an unusual show of respect, placed his hand on the back of the Void Burrower, and she shifted to acknowledge it, considering she was still in pain and couldn’t talk over the sedation Cho’Gath had given her.

 

           “I will be ready great Prophet.” Cho’Gath said, drawing himself up.

 

           “Good. Soon those Guardians would pay.” Malzahar laughed, but quickly stopped and winced in pain. He just waved off Cho’Gath and returned to his bed.

* * *

            Back on Runeterra, Lux looked up at the moon and clearly was in deep thought. “Something bothering you?” Solas jumped up onto the windowsill and turned to Lux.

 

           “Just why didn’t I defeat those two? I threw everything I had into my Spark, but it didn’t work.” Lux had a tear in her eye, clearly showing her failure.

 

           “Well there are a few reasons. First, Malzahar shielded Rek’Sai from your spark. Had she taken it full on, she probably wouldn’t be alive. Second, your still not at your full power. Guardians get stronger the more that there are, the stronger the whole team is. Third, Malzahar likely absorbed void energy recently, giving him enhanced stamina and power. It wasn’t you, well mostly. It’s just a product of circumstance. You are much more powerful than when you started this journey. You have made incredible progress. Take pride in that. But don’t let it go to your head.” Lux laughed, picked up Solas, and headed to bed, ready for the next challenge knowing that hopefully they would get help soon.


	20. Move in Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the amount of energy that Rek’Sai collected a week ago, even after the battle left her almost dead, she was able to be healed but not without cost. Now, in order to get a distraction to allow Malzahar to attack the barriers without the possibility of a rebuild, or repair. The Guardians have been on constant watch, but nothing has happened, but things are starting to get weird.

           Lux was struggling to keep her eyes open, and given the boring lesson that Ms. Teller was teaching today, it was extremely difficult. Looking over to Poppy, she seemed to be having the same problem. Given Janna’s lax of returning texts, she was feeling it too. The amount of void energy was ever present, and given the level of intensity, all three of them were freezing, but given the tired feeling they were also fighting constantly, it was an ongoing battle.

 

           With no solid threat for over a week, it was getting more and more difficult to justify the level of void energy that was ever present now. All of them knew something was happening, but so far, there have been no adverse effects, and it seems no energy draining going on. Repeated searches had turned up nothing, and they could no longer tell if the tired feeling is from the void energy, or from running around so much. Either way, they appeared to be the only ones feeling the effects of this continual presence.

 

           In her cave, Rek’Sai was still moving around rather carefully. The injuries from the last fight were extensive, and while the physical injuries were gone, the pain of them was still there. Rek’Sai had come up with a plan while she was being healed, but it would take time, and given the fact the last battle would set the guardians on point for another attack, going passive was the better option and so far, it was working. With still no solid identity of who the guardians were, it was difficult to pinpoint them, and Malzahar had given up on trying to find them for now.

 

           Rek’Sai, instead of trying to seed another seeker, decided to do something unconventional. In their natural form, seekers were more like worms, it was easy to place a lot of them over the city so they could slowly start emanating void energy for her plan. It was almost right, but she would need one more day to put it in place. That made Rek’Sai extremely nervous, she knew that the guardians would be able to resist the effect she was trying to create for a little while, but sooner or later, they would catch on, and she needed all the time she could. Also, she wasn’t in a position to fight, and while she could appropriate a Zz to help, it would only draw attention at this point.

 

           Back in school, Lux took another look around at her class, and noticed that many of them were asleep. Ms. Teller didn’t even seem to care, given she knew that the subject was boring and there was little she could do, without fireworks and explosions, to make it interesting. Also the fact that they got it every year didn’t help. As the bell rang for lunch, it jolted everyone out of their stupors and they headed outside. The void energy was almost to the point where normal people could feel it, but it wasn’t there yet. Lux and Poppy quietly made their way to an isolated table where they quickly made busy eating some hot soup to try and keep themselves warm.

 

           “This void sense or whatever it’s called is annoying.” Poppy said, after she downed her soup in about 4 gulps. Lux just look shocked and took a few seconds to respond.

 

           “Yeah, but on a day like this, does help with the hot temperatures.” Trying to keep the tone positive, but really not succeeding much.

 

           “Well they could turn the temperature up a bit in the school as a compromise. Why did it have to be like this on our first day back?” Poppy put down the carrier and went for the salad she also packed. Lux was about to say something, when she started adding meat on top of it.

 

           “I was worried there for a second.” Lux tried to keep a straight face, but Poppy just pulled this ‘You aren’t my mother face’ that got both of them laughing. Once they calmed down a bit, Lux finally got to the point. “Still it is worrying. It’s almost to the point where everyone can sense it and that is what worries me.”

 

           “Yeah. But I mean what can we do? We’ve searched high and low and nothing. Maybe Vel’Koz will have an answer for us when we are done here today. Or at least I hope he does.” Poppy said as she carefully ate the salad she was picking on. Lux went back to her lunch of a sandwich and chips before they noticed Amy and a few others coming over. Moving quickly, they made their soup containers disappear as they sat down.

 

           “Why is the first day back always the hardest?” Amy said as she sat down next to Lux.

 

           “Well, if it wasn’t the first, then it would be another.” Poppy replied between mouthful. Once again the table broke into laughter as that got all of them laughing.

 

           “True enough Poppy. True enough.” Ariel said from next to her. “So has anyone else felt cold lately?” Lux and Poppy immediately started listening intently but kept neutral faces.

 

           “No. Why? Have the chills?” Sara, one of the new girls at school, said.

 

           “Yeah a bit. And I’m not the only one. I’ve talked to a few people and it seems to be going around, but no one is sick. Think it’s related to…what’s it called?” Ariel was deep in though trying to remember. Lux and Poppy knew full well who and what she was talking about but saying anything now would be bad.

 

           “The void?” Amy finally said after she was clearly thinking for a bit as well.

 

           “Yeah that’s it. What to do they want here?” Ariel asked.

 

           “Do you not remember history class a year ago?” Lux asked, rolling her eyes in the process. She shot Poppy a ‘I know what I’m doing’ glance as her face turned to a bit of panic.

 

           “Oh yeah. No need to reiterate.” Ariel said, clearly trying to not get a history lesson from Lux, who also just resigned herself to knowing she kept up her ignorance of the real point.

 

           “That does bring up a question however” Amy said as Lux immediately rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming, “are the Star Guardians now the same ones as before, or are they different?” That wasn’t what Lux was expecting.

 

           “Well they would have to be difference. It’s been, what, a few decades since then and there are no surviving photographs or anything like it.” Sara pointed out. Poppy was clearly uncomfortable, but after turning to Lux, who was just rolling with it, knew to just keep her mouth shut and let her handle it.

 

           “Still they look our age don’t they.” Amy pointed out. “We’ve had lots of discussions about this haven’t we Lux?”

 

           “Yeah. And how many have you won?” Lux replied. Amy just glared at her while everyone else started laughing. As Lux looked up, she saw Garen crossing the field and after he noticed her quickly began running up to the table they were at. Lux got up and went to meet him.

 

           “Calm down Garen. What’s going on?” Lux asked, her voice betraying the nervousness in her voice.

 

           “I’ve been ordered to take you home. They are shutting our school down. Twenty students have now fallen asleep and nothing we are doing will wake them up.” He said. Lux was now very panicked as she probably knew exactly what the problem was. “Anyone here been like that?” Garen asked, jolting Lux out of her thinking process.

 

           “No. Well not that I know of.” Lux turned back to her friends when a teacher ran up to them and Lux could guess what they were saying. After a minute, Poppy and Amy came over to her.

 

           “I’m assuming Garen told you, but they are shutting down both the high school and ours. Everyone is being sent home as a precaution.” Amy said as she looked nervous. Poppy, seeing this, quickly walked away, knowing Amy and Lux would want to walk home together. “Lux would you?”

 

           “No problem. But I’m assuming Garen isn’t just here for me.” Lux said.

 

           “No. I’m waiting for Jayce and Janna, they will be going home with us. They won’t let us leave without a group. Ah, here they come.” Lux looked to where Garen was pointing and saw Janna and Jayce crossing the field quickly. “You to get your things and we’ll wait at the front door.” Garen said as he waved the two over. Lux and Amy quickly went back inside, and through the mass of students to their lockers, grabbed their things, and met the rest at the front entrance.

 

           As they headed for their homes, it was readily apparent that there was more going on than originally thought. While Lux and Janna wanted to talk about the events, being in a group, and Lux walking with Amy to keep her calm didn’t allow for that. They first let Jayce go at his place, then Janna. When they finally got to Amy’s place, Lux walked to the front door while Garen stood at the fence.

 

           “Thanks again for talking Lux. I know it must be a burden at times.” Amy said as she opened the door.

 

           “No problem. What are friends for? Even if we haven’t seen each other much of late.” Lux said, immediately regretting her words.

 

           “Well, you are busy all the time it seems and well so am I. Also all of these attacks recent haven’t helped.” Amy said, making Lux calm down.

 

           “They sure haven’t. I hope soon we can put this all behind us.” Lux said, turning to go.

 

           “Hey Lux, honestly how long do you think this will last? You always seem to have a good sense about these things.” Amy asked, her voice betraying her panic a bit.

 

           Lux thought carefully for a few seconds before she answered. While she knew the actual answer of “not soon”, she also knew Amy expected honesty, to a point. “Honestly Amy, I have a bad feeling it will get worse before then. I get the feeling this is just getting started.” Lux knew that would send Amy into a bit of a panic, but was surprised to see her relax a bit.

 

           “Well, I guess we had better learn to live with it then. I know you wanted to say something else,” ‘That’s an understatement.’ Lux thought to herself, “but thanks for being honest. Well get home safely.” Amy went inside and Lux heard the sound of the lock, and she rejoined Garen.

 

           “I was worried there for a second.” He said as Lux rejoined him.

 

           “So was I, but it seems she just wanted to hear it, rather than some lie.” Lux said as they set off towards home. “I’m more concerned about what you said. So what did you all try?” Lux was probing for information, but considering everything, it just made it seem like the usual ‘event probing.’

 

           “I think the better question is what didn’t we try. We tried shaking, water buckets, yelling, high pitched noises, nails on a small chalkboard we found, one of the girls even slapped someone across the face.” Lux just turned at that and knew there would be a much bigger problem. “Nothing worked. There were a few other things that some wanted to try, but for the most part, everyone was set against it.” Garen concluded as they moved closer and closer to home. Lux kept close to him, letting him play the big brother part, despite the fact she knew that if it came to it, she could be the one defending him.

 

           As they finally got home, they were both pulled into an immediate, almost strangling hug. “Mom get off, we can’t breathe. We are both fine.” Garen managed to say. Lux’s mouth was covered by her mother’s arm, but she let go, and Lux managed to catch her breath.

 

           “Sorry I was just so worried about you two. This is pretty scary and hopefully there won’t be a spread.” She quickly sped into the kitchen and continued making, well something. Lux and Garen just stood there for a few minutes before both of them realized that they wouldn’t be going anywhere, at least until she fell asleep. As they started moving upstairs, the phone rang. Lux waved at Garen and he went upstairs while Lux grabbed the phone.

 

           “Hello?”

 

           “Lux? Please tell me your mother isn’t going crazy.” Her father was clearly stressed out.

 

           “Well she almost killed me and Garen with a hug so nothing out of the ordinary.” Lux responded, trying to keep things lighthearted.

 

           “It’s amazing that she can still keep calm considering what she does. But then you have never really seen her work have you?”

 

           “Not really dad. She keeps us away from the hospital. She never wants us coming around.” Lux said as she took a seat on the couch.

 

           “Well at least the two of you are home. Hopefully nothing more will happen. Well I just jinxed that didn’t I?”

 

           “Yes dad you did. See you home soon.” Lux said and she hung up the phone and headed upstairs. Once she was there, she checked her phone to see if there was any messages from Janna or Poppy, which there was just saying they were home and they couldn’t get away until later in the evening. Lux just settled in to her usual afterschool routine, except for the fact it was still well before a school usually got out.

 

           Once dinner was over, Lux made her way back to her room, and considering her father wasn’t home, he wouldn’t be home for quite some time. Once Lux heard her mother go to bed, she pulled out the pen and quietly slipped to the tower. For about an hour, it was just her, Dorcha, and Solas in the tower until Poppy arrived and they quietly agreed to wait for Janna before they discussed the day’s events. Janna arrived shortly afterward.

 

           “Ok so Janna did you actually see any of this?” Poppy asked as she entered.

 

           “Yes. They were just out. But there was something else that probably wasn’t communicated. They were cold. Their heart rates were slow. According to the medic, it was like they were in a coma rather than asleep. It was really creepy. Not to mention the fact I was shivering the entire time thanks to that stupid void energy. I’m sure they are connected but I can’t figure out how.” Janna said as she took a seat at the counter.

 

           “You would be correct about that statement. I believe that Rek’Sai is doing something that we tried the last time but it failed because the ruse was detected before it could be finished.” Vel’Koz said as he entered with a tablet clutched under one of his tentacles.

 

           “Well what was it?” Poppy asked.

 

           “It was an attempt to gather energy from people by putting them to sleep and then absorbing all of the energy that they would generate while they slept. It would more often than not end up putting the individual into a permanent coma which would also cause issues so it was discontinued. If they have resorted to this again, then there are even more issues than I realized.” Vel’Koz “paced” around while he talked and thought.

 

           “Or it could be something else.” Janna said and everyone turned to her. “It could be a distraction for something. Something big.” Everyone went silent as they all sank into thought, but then it hit them all.

 

           “Great this is nothing more or less than a distraction for the upcoming barrier assault. This is just perfect. It will give Malzahar the energy he needs to do more damage than previous. How can we find what is causing this?” Lux asked as she also paced and then turned to Vel’Koz. Vel’Koz turned for a few seconds then shrugged.

 

           “I honestly can’t say. Last time we used voidlings to generate the field but given Rek’Sai, I would say she is using seekers in their natural form which look like worms. Here’s the other problem with that, they are common enough to be overlooked in plants, trees, and bushes. Finding them will be difficult, but if there is any indication of the level of void energy, it won’t be difficult in a little bit.” Vel’Koz said as he resumed pacing.

 

           “Why is that?” Janna asked.

 

           “Um you don’t remember? Oh right, sorry.” Vel’Koz quickly added as he saw the look on Janna’s face. “Because the temperature drops will be so dramatically localized, that locating them will be easy with modern technology. Look for an extremely localized temperature drop. Easy enough to spot. However, I do believe that the police need to be notified about this. It will be a problem very soon.”

 

           “I’ll do it.” Lux said, getting to her feet. “I’d better check at home first to be safe, then I’ll head to the station.” Janna and Poppy just nodded and with that, they all headed home knowing the next day would be bad. When Lux got back to her house, she noticed it quiet and after looking around, she noticed both her mother and brother fast asleep. After making absolutely sure, she headed back into her room.

 

           “So you going then?” Dorcha asked.

 

           “Yeah I mean they have to know sooner or later. Hopefully there will be something they can do. But I still feel like there is something else with this attack that we are missing. Well anyway,” Lux pulled her locket from her bag and headed out the window. After she landed on the ground, she once again checked the area, and quickly realizing that transforming here would be a bad idea, moved away a bit to a cluster of trees in a neighboring yard, then pulled her locket again.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Lux pulled the cloak out of her bag and then headed towards the police station. Keeping herself hidden was no easy feat, especially given the fact there was almost no one out and the fact she was wearing a cloak didn’t help with not blending in, but transforming near the police station, given the last few weeks, was not a good idea. Once she was there, she noticed a flurry of activity and Caitlyn standing outside the station watching officers being loaded into waiting ambulances. Lux carefully made her way over to the Chief.

 

           “Guardian. I can assume that this latest incident is due to the void.” Caitlyn said as Lux made her way carefully to her side. What she said however, wasn’t a question, rather than a statement.

 

           “I get the feeling you already know the answer to that question ma’am.” Lux replied, careful to keep her voice low.

 

           “What can we expect this time?” Cailyn kept her voice neutral, but Lux knew better. As long as she knew what was coming, she could prepare for it. Even an asteroid plummeting to the planet and zero chance to stop it would still have her calm.

 

           “It is similar to something they tried last time they were here. Basically plant voidlings, we guess they are using seekers, all over the place, and slowly release void energy enough to make everyone fall asleep. Then drain the energy from them while they sleep and are trying to regenerate it. They went too fast last time, but this time, it seems there are more of them and they are moving a lot slower.” Lux was careful to not speak faster, or she knew Caitlyn could pick up on her own panic.

 

           “At least you all share information or you found records.” Caitlyn said.

 

           ‘Yeah records. That would be nice.’ Lux thought quietly to herself. Remembering to try and unlock Janna’s memories at some point.

 

           “There is another problem. We have no idea what precisely they look like. We know they look like worms but they also like to hide. We do have an advantage that we didn’t last time.” Lux said keeping the good news for now.

 

           “Oh. What would that be?” Caitlyn asked, clearly interested in whatever Lux had.

 

           “You have thermal imagers right?” Lux careful to keep the hood covering her face, especially her tiara, raised her head. Caitlyn nodded in response. “Well soon, it will be so easy to spot them. With people already falling asleep, the worms will be easy to spot because of the highly localized temperate drop.”

 

           “Well that will make it easy. Can they be destroyed by us?” Caitlyn, letting her voice betray the fact she was impressed with their resourcefulness.

 

           “We don’t know. I wish we did. We might have to get each one, but who knows. We’ll just have to see. We’ll let you know in the morning. That is when we will know for certain.” Lux said, again making every attempt to keep her voice steady and at a decent pace.

 

           “Let me guess, based on how many people don’t wake up right?” Caitlyn asked.

 

           “Unfortunately yes. We’ll keep an eye on the situation during the night.” And with that, Lux made her way out. Caitlyn didn’t even try to follow where Lux went instead choosing to look after her officers. Lux made her way back home, transformed most of the way to keep her speed up, finally arriving in her yard. She jumped into her own room, powered down and had just crawled under the covers where Dorcha and Solas had been making it look like she was still sleeping, when her door opened. Lux careful to keep her eyes closed, heard her mother come across the room.

 

           “I hope you can still wake up in the morning little one.” Her mother gave her a quick kiss on the head, and quietly made her way out. Lux who had been starting to drift off, was now fully awake again. Her mother usually never talks like that. Lux turned to look at Dorcha and Solas, who both also looked alarmed. Lux gave it a few seconds and then stuck her head outside her room. Garen likewise opened his door and his face showed concern. They both heard their mother’s car starting and she sped off.

 

           “That isn’t good.” Lux said as she turned to her brother.

 

           “Nope. Want to…” he said.

 

           “Yes. Grab something warm.” Lux replied and quickly changed into some more warmer clothing, more for her sake than anything else. They were both just about to walk out, when they heard a door open and they both turned to see their father struggling in.

 

           “Dad. What’s going on?” Garen asked as Lux quickly hid both of their bags. And by hid, she tossed them into the dining room.

 

           “People are falling asleep and not waking up. Your mother is on the way to the hospital to try and help some of them. She’s hoping she won’t come home to either of you two affected by this condition, but you know her and panicking. Either way, the best thing the two of you can do is just stay here. So take those bags and head back to bed.” He said. Lux just blushed and Garen headed back up the stairs. Lux tossed his bag into his room, then proceeded to finally lay down, and fall into an uneasy sleep.

 

           The following morning did at least start off good as Lux finally crawled out of bed and saw both her father and brother at the table. Both of them looking like zombies though nonetheless. “She’s still not home, and probably won’t be until this is over.”

 

           “Great, well it is freezing this morning, or is it just me?” Lux asked, seeing the two of them at the table in long pants and long sleeve shirts.

 

           “No, it is freezing, and considering this is the middle of the summer, and we are wearing winter clothes. This cold if from the void and the Guardians, at least from the Chief’s telling, this will get worse. Hopefully it won’t affect the two of you, but it probably will. It seems to be affecting children more than adults, or so we thought until I got a call earlier this morning, which said differently.” Her father replied.

 

           “But there are still more kids than adults falling asleep?” Garen asked.

 

           “Yes, but there is still some reasoning behind it. Hopefully it will slow down soon, because this will soon overwhelm the city. Well I need to get to work. Stay safe you two.” And with that, he got up and left, leaving Lux and Garen looking at each other. They both shook their heads and headed back up stairs. With school still out, they both just settled down and waited for the day to pass. Well Garen anyway.

 

           As soon as she got into her room, Lux grabbed her phone and texted Janna and Poppy to see what was going on.

 

           ‘Nothing here yet. Both of my parents left this morning and told me to stay home, but they doubted I would.’ Janna replied.

 

           ‘My dad is out of the city, and my mom has already left. Advised to say home, but not held to it. If I go out, they told me to go out with friends. Want to meet?’ Poppy replied, clearly wanting to get out of the house. Lux leaned back into her bed and thought about it. She knew she could survive the void energy, but eventually it would consume everything and them as well. She made up her mind. Grabbing her bag and her phone, she texted the two to meet her at the Library. Lux knocked on Garen’s door, and went in.

 

           “Garen I’m heading out. Don’t fall asleep.” She said as she looked around only to see Garen also packing.

 

           “Same here. I can’t be stuck here. I’ll let mom and dad know. Where are you going to be? Or do I need to ask?” Garen said as he also grabbed his bag. Lux just looked at him. “Guess not. I’ll be with few friends at the mall.” Again, Lux just looked at him with that look that said ‘Really?’ Garen was blushing at this point. “Ok I’m going to see a few girls. Nothing wrong with that.” He blurted out.

 

           “Just be careful, your track record isn’t good lately.” Lux quickly sped out of the room as Garen threw a pillow at the stop where she just was. Lux made her way to the Library and was only in the tower a few minutes before being joined by Poppy. Janna followed about 5 minutes after that. As they sat making plans, Vel’Koz burst into the room, clearly looking for them.

 

           “Good you are all here. We have a problem. The local medical facilities are almost overwhelmed and I’ve been invited to scan a few of the people to see the results of the seekers actions and I would like you to come with me. More for security than anything.” He said as the three looked at the crate behind him. “Oh just some equipment. Very sensitive and very delicate.”

 

           The Guardians turned to each other, and nodded. “Ok. Let’s go then.” Lux said, and the three of them rose to their feet.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” As they touched back down, Vel’Koz quickly grabbed the crate and headed to the library dock where Nasus was waiting. The Guardians grabbed their cloaks, bags, and followed. Once they were in the van, Nasus carefully made his way through relatively deserted streets to the hospital where Lux’s mother worked. Lux knew that her powers would hide her identity, but it still made her uncomfortable. Leaving their bags in the van, they followed Vel’Koz in. They were all quickly shown to the ward where people were being treated and Lux quickly noticed her mother as the head nurse. She rolled her eyes. Her mother was always the front and center when it came to things like this, once she got used to all of this craziness.

 

           “Once she adapts, she can quickly put a lot of things out of her mind.” Lux said under her breath as they made their way into the ward.

 

           “Mr. Vel’Koz come here please.” Mrs. Crownguard said as they approached. Vel’Koz paused and floated over to her.

 

           “Yes Ma’am?” He asked, careful to keep neutral.

 

           “Let me be clear. I do not support this for many reasons, and I’m sure you can understand why,” Vel’Koz just nodded in reply. “However, the families consented, so I do not have an issue, but scan someone who didn’t consent, I will not hesitate to throw you and your friends out. Either way, who are they?” Vel’Koz turned to the three and nodded. The three Guardians lowered their hoods, and caught everyone off guard. “I asked them to come so we could hopefully learn more about this and hopefully find a way to counter it for the future.” Lux just nodded in reply, and put her baton on her back and they followed Vel’Koz into the ward.

 

           A few families were surprised by the Guardian’s presence, but many of them accepted Lux’s explanation of they were using more modern technology to better understand their enemy and it is something Guardians usually do. No one apart from their small group knew the real story of everything related to their powers. While they were scanning, suddenly there is a scream and Lux and Poppy run to the front of the ward pulling their gear in the process. When they got there, Poppy had to put her hammer in front of Lux to stop her from falling to the ground in panic.

 

           Coming in on a stretch was Garen, who had clearly fallen to the same thing that everyone else had. Lux barely managed to grab onto Poppy’s hammer to keep from falling to her knees and breaking her cover. Her mother was clearly in a panic and given the look of the staff, it seemed to be a rare occurrence, but then this didn’t happen every day. Her mother somehow managed to pull herself together and give a few orders before setting down in a chair. Poppy looked at Lux, who just nodded and Poppy headed back to Janna and Vel’Koz. Lux carefully approached her mother, while keeping her own persona.

 

           “I’m guessing that was your son?” Lux asked, full well knowing the answer but kept it up for appearance sake.

 

           “Yes. I have a daughter, probably close to your age, but she’s with friends, and this group came in together they said. I’m sorry, that was just…” but she stopped as words seemed to fail her.

 

           “I know this is hard to hear, but I have to ask. Scanning someone who has recently been affected could help us find the cause, but we also need to know where they were found.” Lux said. She was having a hard time keeping her voice neutral since she was so worried about Garen.

 

           “They were found at a park near one of his friends. I’ll get the details for you. I guess now I see why people said yes. It’s different when it hit someone you know.” Lux just nodded in reply. “Go ahead. Finish, but remember what I told that friend of yours before.”

 

           “I understand.” Lux took to her feet and calmly walked back to the rest of the team.

 

           “You ok?” Poppy asked, keeping her voice low.

 

           “No, but now it’s personal.” Lux replied. The anger in her voice took Poppy back a bit.

 

           “Just calm down and don’t do anything rash.” Janna said.

 

           “I know. Either way, she consented. We might have enough after this anyway.” Lux said turning to Vel’Koz who quickly packed up and headed over to Garen. While Vel’Koz was scanning, Lux kept a careful eye on her mother, who despite everything, somehow was holding it together, probably more for the staff’s sake than anything. Once Vel’Koz finished, he carefully packed away his items and pulled Lux over.

 

           “From the scans, and the descriptions, it seems that all of the seekers are drawing at different rates, and that is a good thing. Some of these people will recover and won’t slip into the deep coma but others, unfortunately your brother included, will not. If we can’t find all of the seekers, or at least most of them, well you can imagine how this will end. We need to get in contact with the police and get as many seekers as we can.” Vel’Koz told Lux, choosing his words carefully.

 

           “Does this mean I can hang out the window of a police car again?” Lux said, barely containing her laughter as Vel’Koz just frowned at her.

 

           “I know you need to lighten the mood, given everything, but really bad joke.” Vel’Koz rolled all of his eyes in response. Lux still smiled and she returned to the rest of the team. She nodded to them and they headed outside, followed quickly by Vel’Koz. Lux turned to her mothers and kneeled down next to her.

 

           “Ma’am. I do not know if this will be a comfort or not, but we will bring those responsible to justice.” Lux stood up, but turned as her mother grabbed her arm.

 

           “Tell me you will stop this.” She said. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.

 

           “We will ma’am. I promise you.” Lux said. She was now almost breaking and in the back of her mind, something was telling her to tell her mother who she was, but she held, barely. Lux stood up and walked out to join the rest of the team in the van. As Nasus pulled away, Lux heard her phone buzz from inside her bag. Pulling it out quickly, she quickly powered down and answered it.

 

           “Mom? What’s wrong?”

 

           “It’s Garen, he’s currently in the ward. I just wanted to make sure you are ok. Where are you?” Lux could hear the terror in her voice, despite her trying.

 

           “I’m at the library with some friends. Nothing unusual here. I’m sure Vel’Koz’s presence and other things should keep us safe. Well hopefully.” Lux replied, careful with the amount of information she let loose.

 

           “Ok. He was just here by the way. I’m not going to make you leave, but do not leave the library until you know it is clear. Promise me that.”

 

           “I will mom. I won’t leave. I’ll stay where it I safe.” Lux let the statement hang, knowing she was making a bold face lie. But considering her mother hung up a minute later, after the two sat in silence, she knew that she believed her. Janna and Poppy turned around to look at her, and Lux had more than a few tears in her eyes.

 

           “I know that wasn’t easy, but you gave her some peace of mind.” Janna said. Lux looked up to take stock of the situation. Nasus in the driver’s seat, Vel’Koz hovering in a spot cleared where the passenger seat would have been, Janna and Poppy still powered up staring at her, and Lux was now the one who was weak. Lux just put her head back down, took a deep breath, then raised her head again.

 

           “Now, they have just made me mad. Let’s get them.” It wasn’t fury, or anger, or frustration in her voice now, it was determination, purpose, and focus. Janna and Poppy both just smiled as they pulled up to the police station, well on the road behind it. Lux was about to jump out when Janna pointed something out.

 

           “Um Lux, you might want to transform again.” Lux paused, giggled a bit, then pulled her locket again. After finding a secluded location nearby, she was ready.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Lux touched back down and joined up with Janna and Poppy as they headed towards the police station. Caitlyn seemed to be expecting them as she was waiting outside for them.

 

           “Well you all have a plan? Things are starting to get out of hand.” She said as the team approached.

 

           “Yes we do. Have thermal imagers?” Lux asked. Caitlyn seemed to be taken aback by the question but recovered quickly.

 

           “Yes actually. How many are we going to need?” Lux thought for a moment, before realizing that the three of them should be the only ones allowed to destroy the seekers.

 

           “Just three, and we have a list of locations where there are probable seekers that are causing this. Because it is now affecting people, we can seek them out easily. There we be an extremely localized temperature drop that anyone with a basic thermal imager can detect. If your officers have one, then tell them to go around and mark locations but do not approach. We don’t need anyone else falling asleep right now.” Janna said as she gripped her staff a little more tightly. Caitlyn just nodded in reply and quickly ordered the supplies brought up.

 

           “We will use this list first and try to at least force a temperature change on a massive scale. It will be rather obvious, but because the local temperature will be mostly unaffected, it will make it easier over time to find where they all are.” Poppy added as she shouldered her hammer waiting for the vehicles to be prepped. Caitlyn used her radio to make a few more orders while Lux divided the list between the three of them. After what seemed to be no time at all, everything was in place.

 

           “You three ready?” They all just nodded. “Good. Just pick a vehicle and the officers will drive you there. At least we can help with this.” Caitlyn herself stepped into one of the cars, hers of course, followed by Lux, Janna hopped into one of the other cars, while Poppy picked a van where getting in and out with her hammer wouldn’t be an issue. “Ready?” Lux just nodded. “Ok then hold on.” Caitlyn floored the cruiser and the three vehicles tore out of the police lot with sirens blaring as they raced for their first objectives. Lux picking the one which got her brother first.

 

           When they got to the park, they both noticed it was almost freezing. Caitlyn carefully pulled the thermal imager and it didn’t take long to locate the seeker in a tree. Lux threw and exploded a singularity and the seeker turned to dust. Immediately the temperature in the area shot up to a more seasonal temperature, but it was still a bit chilly given the prevalence of void energy everywhere.

 

           “So answer me this,” Caitlyn asked as they climbed back in and headed to the next destination, “why do they have to release void energy to cover their plans?”

 

           “2 reasons. First to try and hide them from us. Second, because the energy they pull isn’t right for them. They have to refine it a bit in order for it to be useful to them. So mixing a bit of void energy with that makes the process go faster. Given everything, they need as much as they can as fast as they can so take the shortest route that also give another bonus.” Lux responded as she somehow still held on despite Caitlyn’s exacting, but extremely fast driving.

 

           Over the next few hours, the three Guardians eliminated their entire list, and a list that other police units, and civilians, managed to obtain. The temperature for the most part was almost back to normal with only a handful of seekers remaining. As they were driving to their next destination, word came over the radio that most of the patients at the hospital had either woken up, or were responding to stimuli.

 

           With only a few cold pockets left in the city, it was easy to track down the remaining seekers and destroy them. With only city hall remaining, the three converged on it and found an abnormally large signature inside. Lux took a thermal imager from Caitlyn who had the rest of the police surround the building to make sure that hopefully nothing got out. The Guardians carefully made their way around the building but finding nothing, they eventually moved into the council chamber, and it became rather obvious what was causing the problem. What they also noticed is the fact they were getting sleepy.

 

           After quietly entering the chamber, in the middle was a rather large seeker in the middle of the room, surrounded by smaller seekers. The three of them carefully looked around the room before quietly backing out. They knew instantly that fighting could be a bad idea because whatever they were putting out was enough to overpower even them, so they had to fight another way. Exiting the building, they approached Caitlyn and Vel’Koz.

 

           “So we have two problems. First, there are about 10 seekers, including one big one, in the council chambers. Second, the energy in there is so massive, that it started affecting us.” Lux said, keeping her voice neutral, and her anger repressed. “Basically this won’t be an easy solution.”

 

           Everyone stood around for a few minutes before Lux remembered something. She was about to say it when she realized that she needed to pick her words carefully in order to keep the relationship between them and Vel’Koz a secret. However, before she could say anything, Vel’Koz spoke up.

 

           “If one of you would escort me, I might have an idea that it unusual, but might work.” Lux nodded and the two of them proceeded inside. “I could sense your struggling with the idea so I figured I would speak up. I can tell you remembered that in this state, seekers are asleep, but if there are enough of them, or they are large enough, it can problems even for you.” Lux again just nodded.

 

           “If I can get close enough, then I can figure out just how strong we need to set things up.” As they neared the council chamber, Lux started to feel the wave come over her, but was still able to fight it. Vel’Koz carefully opened the door and a sense of calm fell over him. “I haven’t feel that in a long time, and now I remember why I hated it.” He carefully floated inside and took all of 5 seconds to determine the results. Carefully floating back outside, he turned to Lux.

 

           “Well, that was overwhelming. I’ll have to be very careful with how we do this. But the first thing we are going to have to manage is to get everything right. It will be tricky but we could do it. Let’s go.” Lux started looking around for a suitable room. Vel’Koz waited a few more minutes before heading out, Lux, having found a suitable room, followed.

 

           “Ok we have an idea, but it’s risky and we will need some of your officers. Ones who are good marksman.” Vel’Koz said to Caitlyn as the approached.

 

           “Well then what’s your plan?” Caitlyn asked.

 

           “Basically we are going to have to put the Guardians to sleep to allow them to fight the seekers in a dream world. Once they do enough, your officers will take out the other seekers and that should be enough to force the big one into the real world, allowing the Guardians to fight it directly. This is really our only option.” Caitlyn looked at Lux, who had an annoyed face, mainly to keep with the tune of Vel’Koz.

 

           “Ok. How will we know?” Caitlyn asked.

 

           “Trust me you will.” Vel’Koz said. Caitlyn just looked around and nodded. She moved her officers into position, while Lux, Janna, and Poppy followed Vel’Koz into a room. Nasus already had the equipment needed into position and the three of them sat down and waited while Vel’Koz briefed the police. Once he floated back into the room, Nasus picked up his staff, and moved to guard the door.

 

           “Ok you three, ready?” He asked.

 

           “Ready.” They said. They relaxed into the chairs and Vel’Koz filled the room with void energy, enough to put them to sleep. Once he was sure they were ok, he floated over to Nasus and both stood ready to defend should something happen.

* * *

            “Ok this is weird.” Poppy said. Lux and Janna could only nod. The dream world they had punched into was not only creepy, but also highly reminiscent of their own city. Except most of it looked destroyed.

 

           “We shouldn’t linger, we need to find out what is going on. I’m guessing that’s where.” Janna said, pointing to city hall, which was about the only thing standing and undamaged. “Be careful, we don’t know what will happen.” The three of them passed inside and the building, which they were semi familiar with, was now just a mess tunnels and was clearly a maze.

 

           “We should split up, that way we can not only do more damage, but we might be able to force everything out at once. We just need to figure out how.” Lux said, as they rounded a corner, they found a void crystal. Janna threw a twister at it, shattering it. Immediately they noticed the maze destabilize before it restabalized. It was then they noticed a rumbling and behind them, emerged a swarm of Zzs.

 

           “Well that does it, RUN!” Janna said, and the three of them fled in different directions, with Janna throwing a twister behind them, and Lux a singularity, instantly destroying a large amount of them, but another wave was quickly on their heels. The three of them tore off through the maze, dodging around obstacles, smaller Zz swarms, and shattering crystals, the maze would change, but somehow they all knew the route they had to take. Which they translated to void energy. As they destroyed more and more crystals, it became easier to find the new crystals, and smaller the Zz swarms became. Eventually they made their way to a central room where more crystals existed, along with the 14 seekers.

 

           Lux, Janna, and Poppy entered from different entrances and immediately the 14 smaller seekers took up positions around the crystals and the larger seeker.

 

           “Ah so the guardians have made their way here. Vel’Koz help you? I’m sure he did. Well now, how will you force me into the real world? Figured that out yet?” It taunted as the three Guardians stood there and realized they don’t know what to do. Lux, never to stand around, threw a singularity at one of the crystals, but it was surrounded by seekers, and it rendered it useless. Janna followed by another attack which was also blocked.

 

           “Ok this isn’t working.” Poppy charged the main seeker and swung her hammer. It was blocked, but the seeker that blocked it was knocked to the ground. That got Poppy thinking and she regrouped with Lux and Janna. “I think I have it, just watch that seeker.” They turned and saw it rise again. “I’m sure that enough damage onto them individually will send them into the real world for a few seconds. Hopefully long enough for police to deal with them. We just need to be patient, but I’m sure we are going to have to combine attacks against the seeker and the crystals.” Lux and Janna nodded, and they fanned out.

 

* * *

           Meanwhile outside, Caitlyn watched the thermal imager, and saw a brief warm spike for a few seconds, but it disappeared quickly. That is when she got the idea. “Get every single thermal scope in the arsenal now” she ordered over the radio, and a few minutes later, the 5 officers in there, not including herself, had them attached.

 

           “Right, so here’s what I think happened. The Guardians did enough damage to one of the seekers to force it to wake up. When that happens, which was probably that warm spike, we need to take it out. Everyone clear? Ok move out.” The officers made their way into the council chamber, and kept themselves awake due to the cold, and waited.

* * *

            In the dream world, the Guardians kept up their attacks and found small openings, but eventually they did a person attack against a crystal. Janna threw a twister which knocked a seeker to the ground, Poppy then charged with her hammer and knocked another two out, which left just a large enough opening to allow Lux’s singularity to get in and shatter the crystal. The big seeker roared in anger, but it seemed to do little damage.

* * *

            In the real world, Caitlyn and her officers took notice of the first seeker drop and fired, but their weapons no damage. When the next two dropped, they again took shots, but nothing happened. Then as the last one became cold again, one of them fired a shot, and it connected and clearly did damage. It was clear then they would have to wait until the Guardians did more damage where they were.

 

           Lux noticed the last seeker to get back up did so slowly and noticed what was a clear wound on it. “Ok that’s what we need to do. Poppy, keep up your attacks on the crystals, Janna, the seeker itself, and I’ll poke when needed. We need to those crystals down.” Poppy and Janna nodded and quickly set up. Janna threw a twister and a few bolts from her staff at the seeker which were blocked by the smaller ones, but Poppy hit a few to the ground, with Lux throwing a binding at the giant one, and a singularity at the exposed crystal shattering it.

 

           They saw the two seekers that were knocked out get back up slowly, but they clearly had a few more injuries. However, getting a third crystal proved to be more challenging. With fewer targets to defend, the seekers were able to defend them better. Their attacks were clearly doing damage to the large seeker, but not nearly enough. Getting another crystal would be challenging. Lux and Janna kept hammering the large seeker to try and get as many seekers defending the large one as possible, while Poppy probed for a weakness in crystal defenses.

 

           “Poppy, we need another crystal downed quickly” Lux said. Poppy just frowned as she was blocked from getting at another crystal, but then she saw something.

 

           “Lux, singularity there.” Lux looked for a second, nodded, and Poppy charged another one. Janna and Lux at the same time threw attacks at the large seeker, and then Lux let a singularly lose at another crystal. The result was Poppy throwing her buckler, knocking out a seeker, then shattering a crystal. Lux knocked a seeker out with her binding against the large seeker, but her singularity made it to the crystal before a seeker, which not only shatter another crystal, but knocked out another seeker. This time, the two seekers didn’t get back up.

* * *

            In the real world, Caitlyn saw the two seekers drop, and they again opened fire, but this time, they also didn’t cool back down when they opened into them. “There we go. They are doing it. Keep an eye out. Take out anything that warms up, quickly.” She ordered her officers. She could feel the sleepiness try to overtake her, but with the elimination of the two seekers, it had stalled, but wasn’t backing off.

* * *

            Lux knew that it had worked, and the giant seeker roared again. Lux threw more attacks at the large seeker, and while they were being absorbed, seekers were clearly moving slowly and they were trying to burn energy to keep in the fight. Poppy kept having to deal with at least one while trying to shatter more crystals, but eventually got the upper hand. After shattering 3 more crystals, it was now almost impossible to get another one. But at least the number of seekers had dropped to 10.

 

           Getting frustrated, even with Lux and Janna helping, the remaining 4 crystals were untouchable. So Poppy spun up her Hammer, and the jumped from a ledge and brought it crashing down into the large seeker and the swarm around it. Lux seeing the jump, threw her Spark at the same time, and the damage it did was apparent. All 10 remaining seekers were knocked to the ground, and only 5 of them got back up this time, abet really slowly.

 

           “We’re almost there.” Poppy charged around shattering the 3 remaining outlying crystals before the remaining 5 seekers drew on remaining energy to defend the last large crystal and the seeker itself. Lux, Janna, and Poppy charged around trying to find an opening, but they couldn’t. Eventually Lux saw a pattern in their own movements, and she just stopped in place. Janna and Poppy stopped as well, and so did the seekers. Lux just stood in place and Janna and Poppy seeing what was about to happen, spaced themselves out, but not evenly.

 

           “Give up guardians?” The Seeker taunted.

 

           “Nope, just waiting for that.” Lux threw a binding directly at the seeker, a singularity at the crystal, and charged up for another Spark. Janna threw a twister at the seeker and then threw a few bolts from her staff. Poppy threw her bucker the crystal as well and then charged at the seeker with her hammer. They couldn’t defend against everything. While the seekers few up to defend the crystal, because of the odd angles, they were hit with Lux’s singularity, knocking 3 of them to the ground, but Poppy’s buckler made it through, shattering the crystal. The seeker roared, and the remaining seekers dropped and it finally came down from the small platform it was on.

 

           “Fine. I’ll deal with you myself.” But as it charged, it turned as it saw Janna dive out of the way. Turning around, the seeker saw Lux jump into the air.

 

           “Final Spark!”

* * *

            In the real world, Vel’Koz and Nasus were waiting for Rek’Sai to show up, and she did, as expected. As they noticed more and more seekers being destroyed, there was a presence rapidly approaching, and it was clearly angry. “Ready” Nasus asked.

 

           “Indeed.” Vel’Koz answered. He lashed out with his powers, and there was a loud bang from the corridor outside. Nasus and Vel’Koz exited the room and found Rek’Sai recovering from being slammed into the ceiling.

 

           “So you will still defend them, even though they would destroy us?” Rek’Sai snarled.

 

           “Here’s the difference between you and me. I came to understand things, you refuse to see anything but your own aggression and anger.” Vel’Koz replied. Rek’Sai, not taking that well, charged and tried to attack Vel’Koz, only to be slammed into the ground by Nasus’ staff. He quickly summoned his own powers and Rek’Sai was now in visible pain as she tried to get away, but only to be further slowed, and then the floor became like lava for her as she jumped to a wall. As soon as she grabbed onto the wall however, Vel’Koz shot out his own powers and slowed her further and did some more damage. Rek’Sai roared and charged again, connecting with Vel’Koz, but then getting slammed by a void rift he summoned.

 

           “That actually hurt. Hmm, you have been learning.” He taunted. Rek’Sai charged again, despite being wounded, she again lunged at Vel’Koz only to be stopped by Nasus, who was now as tall as the hallway and looking very upset. He brought his staff down on Rek’Sai’s head and hit her a few good times while he slowed her escape. Now in a lot of pain, Rek’Sai roared and vanished, but just as she leapt at Vel’Koz, emerging from her shroud, she was hit with a bright light.

 

           “Oh Sorry did we interrupt something?” Lux said as she and the rest of the team emerged from the room that they were hidden in. Lux threw a few bolts for good measure and Rek’Sai dove, while taking them, but disappeared.

 

           “I see you were successful.” Nasus said as he turned to Vel’Koz, who just shook off the scratches.

 

           “Now to go and deal with it.” Lux and the rest of the team charged into the council chamber where the seeker was not moving. With Caitlyn and 5 other highly trained marksman watching it, it was scared to move.

 

           “So now what guardians? Do you mean to end me?” It asked. Janna and Poppy flanked around to make sure it didn’t get away.

 

           “Yes actually.” Lux charged her powers but just as she was about to focus them, Rek’Sai reappeared and knocked Lux into the air, then managed to get quite a few hits in before Janna could throw a shield on her. Lux tumbled to the ground, but missed the landing, doing further harm. Janna threw a twister to try and slow Rek’Sai, but she missed, and when Poppy charged to try and do the same thing, she also missed. Rek’Sai was clearly desperate but somehow managed to dodge everything. Well almost.

 

           As soon as she appeared, shots rang out as Caitlyn and the rest of the marksman took shots at the void creature, and while some missed, they did enough to slow Rek’Sai down after Poppy missed, giving her another chance. Poppy charged again, but that seemed to be exactly what Rek’Sai wanted. Poppy knocked her into the seeker, which Rek’Sai grabbed and then she summoned her remaining strength and launched into the air, ripped open a void portal, and was gone.

 

           “Well that won’t be good.” Caitlyn said but then she saw Lux on the ground. “Get a medic!” Caitlyn managed to climb down from the second level quickly but as she approached Lux, Janna just held her back.

 

           “A medic won’t be necessary. Anyone else injured?” She asked. Two of the officers raised their hands, and Vel’Koz floated into the room along with Nasus who also joined. “Ok then, come closer and don’t be scared.” As the small group formed a circle around her, Janna channeled her powers and produced her Monsoon. The healing rains were a welcome after the long day and even before she was finished, Lux rose to her feet.

 

           “Thanks. Now we have to deal with that seeker. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until it shows up again. Rek’Sai won’t take this defeat lightly and the seeker was wounded.  For now however, the danger is past.” Lux said turning to Caitlyn.

 

           “Good. Hopefully we can have a few days without another crisis, but I probably just jinxed it didn’t I?” Caitlyn said in reply. Lux just nodded her head and gave a quick chuckle as a reply.

 

           “Hopefully a few days rest then. Let’s go. Thanks again.” Lux said to the team and Vel’Koz respectively as they headed out of the building and to the library. Making use of routes they knew well, they were able to beat Nasus and Vel’Koz back, and were waiting for a half hour before they arrived.

 

           “You all should be proud of yourselves after what you did today. Hopefully we can indeed get a few days rest but I doubt Rek’Sai will give us that. Still, with just three, you have accomplished a lot. Hopefully a fourth and fifth aren’t far off but for now, we seem to be ok.” Nasus said as he entered. Vel’Koz held up a tentacle, but just nodded in agreement.

 

           “Hopefully so, but that means less things for me to hit.” Poppy said in reply. The room was dead silent for a second, before everyone burst out laughing. It was exactly what they needed after the long few days. After they all calmed down Lux stood up as she noticed her phone.

 

           “I need to get into the main library, and so do you two. My mom is here to get us.” She said. Vel’Koz and Nasus stood aside and let them pass through one of the concealed entrances.

 

           “I hope we do find more soon, but I sense that is closer than expected.” Vel’Koz said turning to Dorcha and Solas who weren’t following as they were “still at home”.

 

           “Hopefully. There is something, but we can’t pin it down. And of course this lazy cat won’t help us search.” Solas said, poking at Zephyr, who just took a casual swipe at the poro. Solas playfully hopped out of the way. “Anyway, hopefully we can find them before another chaos storm breaks out.

 

           “Somehow I don’t think that will happen.” Nasus said.  


* * *

 

           “Ok you three, I’m going to take you all home. Sorry you have to cram in the back though.” Lux just rolled her eyes at her mom as Garen, who was clearly still recovering sat in the front while the three of them were crammed in the back. They all wanted to talk, but given present company, that just wasn’t an option. As they all got dropped off, Lux just figured it was probably for the best as they all just needed to spend a bit of down time, however long that may be.

 

           When they arrived home, Lux helped Garen into his room, where he collapsed onto the bed. “Thanks. Man whatever that was really hit us hard.” He said as he pulled a pillow close.

 

           “Who was with you?” Lux asked.

 

           “Oh Darius, Jayce, Robert, Juan, and a few others. We all just collapsed apparently near the park. I heard that one of those Guardians dealt with whatever hit us, but still they said it would be a few days before we are all back to normal. So I’m just going to get some rest. Thanks again sis.” And with that, Garen promptly fell asleep.

 

           As Lux went into her room, a thought crossed her mind. She quickly got on her computer and pulled up Janna and Poppy and invited them to a chat room.

 

           “What’s up?” Poppy asked before Janna could even say anything.

 

           “Either one of you notice the distinct lack of Debonair at today’s events?” Lux asked. Both Janna and Poppy were silent for a minute before Janna spoke up.

 

           “Now that you mention it, yes I did. Maybe he got hit with the seekers before we could find them all. Why?”

 

           “Just a thought. I need to put a few things on paper. I’ll talk to you two about it tomorrow. Or whenever. I think we could all use some rest.” Lux said, pulling a stack of paper and began writing.

 

           “Sure. See you sometime.” Poppy said. Both she and Janna logged off as Lux continued scribbling with a few theories but didn’t get very far before tiredness overtook her and she went to bed. Well she stayed up long enough for Dorcha and Solas to come back and the three of them just decided to sleep the afternoon and evening away.

* * *

            In her cave, Rek’Sai was cowering, because she knew that she had failed, and failed badly. As a portal opened, Malzahar floated through, but he didn’t look mad. In fact, he looked positively delighted.

 

           “I’m sorry Prophet, but I have failed.” Rek’Sai said, hoping for a bit of mercy.

 

           “Failed? I would hardly call your recent actions a failure. Sure you didn’t get the Guardians, but otherwise I would call your recent actions a success!” The enthusiasm in his voice made Rek’Sai look up for the first time.

 

           “I’m sorry Prophet, I don’t understand.” Rek’Sai was now every confused.

 

           “Well the amount of energy you managed to collect before those pesky guardians stopped you was immense. We have more than enough to launch another attack on the barriers, and still have a plentiful reserve. You failed only part of your mission, but given everything, I would have to say you came out on top.” Malzahar genuinely looked pleased with the results and Rek’Sai relaxed a bit.

 

           “Prophet what are you here for then?” She asked.

 

           “I need you to provide a distraction one more time. I know your seeker is wounded, but even wounded, it would be a great distraction while we prepare another assault. Is there a target you had in mind?” Malzahar asked as he turned to the seeker in the corner, clearly recovering from the wounds that were inflicted on I during the fight.

 

           “I did have one more target that I could get to, but I will need a day for the seeker to recover enough to be able to do anything.” Rek’Sai said through a timid voice, clearly afraid of angering Malzahar despite his attitude.

 

           “Very well. You said you needed time with your last plan and even though we didn’t get as much energy as the last time we tried this, the energy was beyond expectations. I have confidence in your plan and therefore you will have your day. But no longer than that.” He said with an extremely firm tone.

 

           “Understood great Prophet.” Rek’Sai said, finally relaxing enough to calm down.

 

           “Remember though, the purpose of this is to distract not, get energy, though that would be nice. Primary mission first Rek’Sai.” And with that, Malzahar summoned a portal and vanished. Rek’Sai turned to the seeker, nodded, and finally curled up to get some sleep, knowing that the guardians would find out the results quickly, so she had to plant a lot of small fires. Just enough, but not too much, least they sense what is actually going on. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the Guardians did stop Rek’Sai’s scheme, she got away with more than the Guardians realized, and now she has orders. Provide a distraction for Malzahar to channel the energy they have collected and launch yet another assault against the barriers protecting Runeterra. Will the Guardians sense the trap, or will they be too distracted to notice until it is too late?

           A few days off. That is all the Guardians wanted. Unfortunately, Rek’Sai would give them no rest beyond one. Just two days after the last major conflict, Rek’Sai had provided yet another small attack in a park with just herself and a small seeker, drained some energy, and left the seeker to be destroyed.

 

           “She’s up to something.” Janna said as the team reentered the tower after the small incident.

 

           “That is obvious, but what?” Poppy said as she moved to grab some water.

 

           “Distract us?” Lux asked as she sat down and put her head in her hands trying to think.

 

           “I don’t think so. I think is trying to get small amounts of energy because they are so close, that one large attack would risk exposure and us stopping them too soon, but small hit and run things like this would wear us down, and give them the energy they need. My guess is that they have enough, but want to build a reserve.” Janna said after a minute of thinking. Lux and Poppy just shrugged, but it was apparent that Rek’Sai wouldn’t be letting up. Despite the wounds she has suffered through, there seemed to be no slowing her down like before. Janna was likely right, but still, they couldn’t let up. They all knew another attack against the barriers wasn’t if, it was when, and stopping them for as long as possible was the key.

 

           “Well we are just going to have to keep an eye out and be prepared. If they get enough energy to attack, even a small one, it could be bad. We barely stopped the attack against the last one, I doubt we be as successful this time.” Lux said matter of factly.

 

           “Well you three are going to have to be prepared to run on less sleep than normal, or take turns, because it seems like this isn’t going to stop. One attack here and there will be enough to throw the city into a panic.” Solas said as he hopped onto the counter.

 

           “The city is already on edge, small things like this will probably set it off.” Dorcha said in agreement.

 

           “I don’t think so.” Zephyr chimed in, which caused everyone to turn to him. Usually he just stayed quiet so when he did say something, it caused everyone to turn. “I think if anything they will push people to be more aware of their surroundings and get out of the way. I know the attack was sudden but I also think there is something else going on here. We just have to be aware.” Everyone just nodded in reply. Zephyr jumped onto Janna’s shoulders and everyone left together.

 

           When Lux got home, she set her bag down in her room and carefully sat down at her computer and began searching as she usually did. Even in the images that were captured of her, Janna, and Poppy, she had to remind herself it was her. There were of course the usual smattering of articles both against and for their actions, but many of them she was surprised to show strength. “Well the cat was right.” Lux muttered to herself.

 

           “What was that dear?” Lux turned in a shot of panic to see her mother standing at her door, looking a bit confused.

 

           “Sorry just a game. Well someone’s avatar actually.” Lux replied, knowing the talk would confuse her.

 

           “Ok then” and she walked away. Lux relaxed back in her chair and turned to see Dorcha and Solas just sleeping on her bed. Lux just smiled and leaned back in her chair, ready to just doze off, but remembered that she still had homework. Groaning, she pulled her other bag and pulled out her book and began reading.

          

           Janna upon getting home, Zephyr immediately jumped into his tower and curled up and sent to sleep. “Lazy cat.” Janna said. Zephyr responded with a swipe of his paw and just went back to sleep. Janna headed up to her room, logged into her computer and was both browsing the net and did her own homework. She browsed her usual articles and found the usual stuff and just dismissed it.

 

           When Poppy got home, her schedule was simple, take a nap. She spent most of the afternoon sleeping and only got up for dinner.

 

           As the night approached, all of them realized that trying to implement a system with the three of them wouldn’t work and coordinated with Vel’Koz, who didn’t need sleep, Nasus, Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr to keep watch. Lux slept with her locket under her pillow while Janna and Poppy put their pendant necklaces on before going to sleep, in case they needed to be alerted in the middle of the night.

* * *

           During the night, Rek’Sai however had no interest in attacking, like the Guardians, she spent the night sleeping and preparing for the next day. She knew she had to keep the guardians on their toes but not get them suspicious. There would be a fine line she would have to walk, but that line was always moving, and it would be hard to keep that aligned. Sooner or later they could catch on, if they hadn’t already. Once they do catch on, there would be nothing to do but keep them distracted long enough. Malzahar would need another 3 days, and that would be hard.

* * *

 

           As the morning came, Lux turned on the news and saw nothing. Well nothing apart from the ordinary morning things. She breathed a sigh of relief and after getting ready for school, she headed downstairs where she found Garen at the table. “Mom and dad are already gone. Want a ride today?” Lux turned to give Garen a look. “Ok then. Just trying to be nice.”

 

           “Why?” Lux asked, now extremely curious. “Oh wait dad said didn’t he?”

 

           “Mom actually, but she resigned herself to the fact that you would probably walk anyway.” Garen replied shrugging in the process. Lux rolled her eyes, but given everything lately, it was probably better to humor her mother than not.

 

           “I guess. Humor mom right?” Garen just smiled in reply. Lux took that as a yes.

 

           “A lot of parents right now are driving their kids, or walking with them. These recent attacks have everyone on edge and everyone is just being more cautious. Or at least that is what dad said.” Garen put his head back down, clearly in relief. Lux just sighed and sat down to eat before they left. Once they were both ready, Garen drove Lux to school and after making sure that she was inside, he drove off. No doubt a response to their mother’s request. Lux just rolled her eyes and after talking with her classmates, it seemed everyone was on edge, but cautioned.

 

           “Ok class, please take your seats.” Ms. Teller said as she walked in. She was clearly on edge, but it seemed that only Lux noticed the actual tension in the room. Probably because she was actually looking for it. “As many of you know, there have been an upswing in attacks lately and the school is becoming more concerned for not only your safety, but ours as well. Therefore, they have decided to cancel, and please don’t kill the messenger here, outdoor recess and lunch. You can eat in any place in the school, but you can’t be outside. Yes, that means the roof too.” Ms. Teller looked straight at Lux as she spoke. Lux just smiled in reply.

 

           As the day wore on, Lux found herself increasingly looking at her phone and out the window expecting another attack, but clearly one wasn’t coming. As she checked in with Poppy at lunch, she headed over to her friends and they all immediately launched into a massive discussion about the events of the previous day. Lux mostly just listened and responded when she was asked a direct question, but no one seemed to notice she was only half listening.

 

           Just as she figured the day would go without an incident, suddenly the teachers rushed into the main room where most of the students were eating and they were followed by other students. “All students are hereby ordered to remain in this room until further notice.” Headmistress Fiora said as she entered and subsequently locked the doors behind her. Everyone looked scared, and Poppy stared across the room at Lux, who looked more annoyed and concerned than anything. Poppy grabbed her phone only to see a text from Janna who said she was in lockdown, and she said they were too.

 

           Lux could only look at her phone with her friends as Rek’Sai launched a quick attack against a park, but as soon as it started it was over. The attack was over in 5 minutes, and not even the police had time to respond. Lux watched the aftermath of the attack while her friends were obviously terrified, but Lux only felt anger. She sensed that this wasn’t random, but planned. A distraction, but for what? Lux turned off the video and pulled up her message and texted Janna and Poppy.

 

           ‘She’s trying to distract us but from what?’ Lux sent as she looked over at Poppy. Poppy just stared back.

 

           ‘I agree but is she trying to build up a reserve or distract us?’ Janna sent back.

 

           ‘I’m guessing both.’ Poppy replied. ‘I mean she has never done something like this before and these are fast attacks. I mean we couldn’t even have gotten there before something happened.’

 

           ‘True. Hopefully the news will be kind on that.’ Janna said, Lux just rolled her eyes.

 

           ‘Don’t hold your breath.’ Lux sent back, and only to look over at Poppy holding her breath, and laughing. Lux just rolled her eyes, sat back against the wall and sighed. It was clear that they would have issues with the news going against this, but hopefully they will weather it ok. What also became obvious to the instructors is that students wouldn’t be focused for the rest of the day, but they still tried to teach, but after a few hours many of them just gave up and threw work on the board and just sat at their desks.

 

           After school let out, the three agreed to just go home first and then deal with any consequences. However, contrary to what Lux thought, the news took it easy on the lack of a Guardian response. Most of the news she watched seemed to side on the fact the attack was started and over in less than 10 minutes, not even giving the police a chance to respond. Leaning back in the chair she was sitting in, Lux breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that the media’s reaction to a lack of response wouldn’t last long, nor would people’s patience, but hopefully it would last long enough.

 

           Janna had mostly turned the news off, seeing the good responses, but also because the homework she had piled up was beginning to get to her. Janna carefully picked over the pile and got a lot of the time consuming ones out of the way but before she knew it, her mother was knocking on the door.

 

           “Janna, dinner time” she said.

 

           “Coming.” Janna put her headset down and followed her mother downstairs.

 

           Poppy took her frustrations out on a new piece her father was working on, and while she didn’t do damage to it, eventually she just had to calm down, so she figured she would just head to the tower and practice hitting some objects until she got the frustration out of her system. Once she was there, only Vel’Koz was in the tower, carefully hovering over the globe.

 

           “Where are the others?” He asked as Poppy entered.

 

           “I’m guessing doing homework. I just need to vent some frustration. I was hoping to just beat up on the dummies upstairs.” Poppy said her hand already going to her necklace.

 

           “They are good for that purpose, but do you have a moment first?” Vel’Koz asked, clearly seeing that Poppy just wanted to hit a few things. Poppy instead moved to the table where she took a seat.

 

           “Sure what’s up?”

 

           “Well, I know that you are all frustrated with what happened today, or at least I would be.” Poppy just nodded in reply. “However that doesn’t stop the pressing issue that I have. I need any theories that you have about what these spree attacks.” Vel’Koz said as he started pacing. Well hover pacing.

 

           Poppy paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. “Well we think that she is trying to distract us from something. The two things we were able to come up with were that either she is trying to distract us while Malzahar plans an attack against the barriers. The other theory is that they do not have enough, or barely enough energy to assault the barriers and these are meant to get as much as possible, as fast as possible. Given the fact we’d be looking out for another scheme, it is probably better this way.”

 

           “Both valid theories, and it is probably a mix of both. However, there is one sticking point. We do not know how much energy Rek’Sai got away with in the last attack and we probably won’t. I won’t keep you any longer. Thank you.” Vel’Koz floated out of the tower and towards his office while Poppy just started taking her frustrations out on the training dummies.

 

           While he was floating through the library and museum, Vel’Koz could sense the tension in the places and the fact people seemed to come there looking for an escape. Vel’Koz kept up the cherry nature he always tried to project hoping it would rub off on others, but it seemed that it wouldn’t. Instead of buying into the negativity all around him, he instead decided to focus on the positive and hopefully someone would leave in a better mood than in which they came.

 

           Once in his office however, he finally did relent to the fact that Rek’Sai was probably distracting them. Given the next day was a half day at the schools, and Janna was out completely, hopefully there would be enough to stop another attack. Or at least he hoped.

 

           As the evening turned to night, the team decided that sleeping off their anxiety would be better than just going around being frustrated all night. As they slept however, Rek’Sai was already in the works to plan another attack, but like the previous night, she knew that attacking during the night would present a lot of logistical issues at the moment so she decided to wait until morning.

 

           As the team woke up, they sensed another attack was imminent. The void energy wasn’t concentrated, but it was enough to where being late to school would be an acceptable consequence. The three of them met at a spot roughly in the middle of their residences and they went over a plan.

 

           “Well considering my parents just decided to let me have a three-day weekend, I’m not worried.” Poppy said.

 

           “Not mine. I’m either in class, or I’m in trouble.” Lux replied, shaking her head in the process.

 

           “Then get going, we can handle ourselves. I hope” Janna said. Lux nodded and took off towards school.

 

           “Well I think we should split up just in case.” Janna said. Poppy just nodded in reply. As they separated to walk different areas of the city, both knew that this would be challenging. Or so they thought. Just as Lux was walking up the steps to school, not being late but close enough, she was overcome with a chill and knew that Rek’Sai was attacking. With Headmistress Fiora right next to her, Lux knew that she would have to sit this one out.

 

           Janna and Poppy however, were already on top of it. Poppy just happened to be closer and she found a secluded spot to transform.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!”

 

           Once done, she quickly charged into one of the parks near the city center as Rek’Sai started her attack. Clearly not expecting a quick response, she didn’t even notice Poppy until she was flying through the air from the impact of Poppy’s hammer. Snarling, she turned to face the Guardian, only to be put out as Poppy has already destroyed the seeker.

 

           “Sorry, nothing for you today. Now either leave, or I will make you.” Poppy said, getting ready for anything Rek’Sai did. Rek’Sai didn’t respond, but instead tore open a portal, and vanished through it. Poppy just stood there looking confused but nevertheless stopped the attack. Janna arrived just a few seconds later to find a bit of chaos, but people were already settling down. Janna just walked over to the remains of the seeker and after looking at it quickly, she knew that there was nothing more to be learned.  

 

           “I think we should leave before anything else happens.” Janna said and Poppy nodded in reply. They took off towards the tower and decided to wait until Lux was finally out of class. As they arrived, they just turned on the news for some background noise, and set about working on their homework.

 

           Lux meanwhile was just annoyed, but relieved as the cold she felt as she entered vanished quickly and she knew that Poppy and Janna had dealt with the attack quickly. With the weekend approaching they knew that it would be easier to patrol and intercept any attack by Rek’Sai, but that meant that whatever she was working on or trying to do would succeed. As she settled in for an annoying half day, Lux just turned it all over in her head and finally just gave up until she was out.

 

           Once the students were dismissed, Lux headed immediately for the tower to see the results of the morning. Arriving, she found Janna and Poppy just working on their homework. They pulled off their headsets as they heard Lux enter. “So how did it go?” Lux asked.

 

           “Rek’Sai wasn’t interested in fighting. I knocked her into the sky, destroyed the seeker, and before I could do anything else, she ran. I’m not sure how much she got before I got there. I’m guessing not much.” Poppy said as she leaned back in her chair.

 

           “I didn’t even get to see the fight before it was over. I literally got there to see Rek’Sai disappear. I examined the remains of the seeker, and it looked like to be something that would be thrown away. Again, giving more evidence to our theory of she’s distracting us.” Lux just paced back and forth for a while as everyone just sank in thought. It was still silent when Vel’Koz hovered about 30 minutes later.

 

           “Tired or thinking?” He asked as he noticed the three of them just sitting around. That jostled all three out of their stupors.

 

           “Yeah. Just trying to ponder what Rek’Sai might be trying, or trying to distract us from.” Janna said as she stood up and stretched a bit.

 

           “I’m guessing another barrier assault. We know it’s coming just when not if. However, the issue that remains is that we currently have nothing in which to stop it with. We still don’t have a full team,” Vel’Koz turned to Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr as he spoke, who quickly left, “and Rek’Sai seems to be targeting things at random, rather than trying to get as much energy as possible.”

 

           “We thought about that, but we also concluded that they might want to build a reserve of energy before another barrier assault. They might not need much, but these will be enough.” Lux said as she got up again and stared pacing.

 

           “Also a possibility. We need to be ready. I doubt the next attack will be small.” Vel’Koz said as he left. The Guardians just looked at each other and nodded, before leaving to go home.

* * *

 

           The rest of the day passed in peace as Rek’Sai prepared to coordinate her attack with Malzahar’s barrier assault. It was simply a matter of timing and Rek’Sai was using her resources to distract the guardians but also to plan something they couldn’t recover from, or at least she hoped. Her seeker was already in position, and given the news cycle, it was time to unleash it.

 

           In a small corner of town, the seeker received its orders and unleashed its online assault. Possessing a semi-well known author, who had a following in the city, started posting articles about how the guardians were instead bad and how the void warriors were instead the saviors they were looking for. While Rek’Sai knew that there might not be much draw form it, there hopefully would be enough to distract the guardians until the following night.

* * *

 

           As Lux was eating dinner, Garen’s phone kept going off and after the 6th time, clearly their mother was annoyed. “Garen, honey. I understand the girls are probably falling all over you, but can you please tell them to not text during dinner?”

 

           “It’s not texts mom. It’s news reports.” Garen picked up his phone and then handed to Lux, who took it out of a bit of shock. Lux just read the headlines and rolled her eyes, while inside, she was panicking. The news reports told of how the Guardians were instead bad news and the void was the good one.

 

           “Well someone has a sense of humor.” Lux said, handing Garen his phone back. He handed it to their father, who took it and shook his head. Both of them turned to their father who seemed to share his daughter’s opinion.

 

           “Sure the ones who we know fight to protect us are the bad guys. What a load of…” but one look from his wife told him to not finish that sentence. The rest of the meal passed in relative silence until Lux’s phone began doing the same thing. Except this time it was from Janna, Poppy, Vel’Koz, Nasus, and Amy. One look from her mother told Lux to put the phone away for the time being.

 

           Once dinner was over, Lux tore up to her room and immediately logged into her computer. She began browsing the articles while texting Janna and Poppy back, but she only seemed to find many people disagreeing with them. Even politicians were weighing in and said the stories are a load of junk. However, there was a following that seemed to agree with the author, or authors, she couldn’t tell. Hopefully it wouldn’t go further, but when Janna texted back to come to the tower, Lux couldn’t resist. She grabbed her bag and headed out.

 

           Along the way, Lux texted back and forth with Amy about how the articles were stupid, bad, and no one seemed to want to believe them. Lux’s panic disappeared a bit while she was texting as Amy seemed to have a good grasp on online gossip and the mood of school. Not to mention she communicated with just about everyone in their class on a daily basis. Arriving at the tower, Lux found Janna hard at work on the computer while Poppy just held her head in her hands.

 

           “OK, what’d I miss?” Lux asked as she walked in.

 

           “Janna says the articles are making people sleepy and how the following that initially took up the banner of this person, we have confirmed it is one person by the way, are now in the hospital with the same symptoms of energy drain. They will be fine in a few days, but they also had a lot of energy drained. It seems Rek’Sai has learned to drain people through the internet, which shouldn’t surprise me as much as it originally did now that I think about it.” Poppy said, seeming to take the explanation away from Vel’Koz who had just hovered in. Vel’Koz, for his part, just shrugged, and pointed at Poppy in agreement.

 

           “So what are we doing about it?” Lux asked looking around since there seemed to be nothing she could do to help.

 

           “Well Janna is trying to trace the person who posted the articles, but she is getting nowhere fast.” Janna chose that moment to slam her fist into the table she was at, seemingly in confirmation. “And she’s getting frustrated. I will work overnight with a few people I know to try and track this person down, but I’m also afraid to move Janna from the computer.” Vel’Koz said. Poppy, seeming to take that as a challenge, stretched her arms, cracked her knuckles, and in one swift movement, pulled Janna’s chair away from the table. That finally seemed to knock Janna out of her trance.

 

           “What? Oh! Sorry. Got wrapped up. Lux when did you get here?” Janna said, clearly trying to recover.

 

           “About 3 minutes ago. We might need you later, but for now, I suggest you take a step back and relax. Before you break the table.” Lux laughed a bit as Janna threw the nearest available thing, in this case, Zephyr, at her. The cat instead of trying to “attack” Lux, just folded his body and Lux caught him.

 

           “Lazy cat.” Janna said, but Zephyr seemed more interested in the scratching he was getting from Lux at the moment. “Hey I thought I’m supposed to be your companion!” Janna’s voice said frustrated, but her face told a different story, and with one long meow, Janna just couldn’t hold it in anymore. She broke down laughing and sank back into the chair. Poppy and Vel’Koz started laughing, while Lux giggled while still holding Zephyr. Once everyone calmed down, he hopped down and Janna turned back to the computer.

 

           “They are tricky, but I think I can get to them. However, I will need time. So I wrote a program to do it for me. I’ll have it run overnight on the computers here and in the morning, I hope to come in and find it close or done. Either way, we will have an answer in the morning.” Janna said as she got up from her computer after transferring the program to the tower’s computer network. “It can’t be traced back here if that is what you are all worried about. If anything, it will trace back to the library, which would seem legit as Vel’Koz would no doubt be investigating it anyway.”

 

           “Indeed I would have. I’m still going to make a few calls however.” Vel’Koz said as he floated out. “I would suggest the three of you go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow seems like it will be a busy day.” He suggested as he popped back into the tower’s ground floor room. The team just looked around at each other and nodded. They all knew tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

* * *

 

           The following morning saw Janna up before anyone and was even at the library before it opened. As she was about to enter, Janna caught herself and remembered that she needed to use one of the secret entrances or risk getting caught by staff and possibly causing a scene. Making her way around to one of the doors, she quietly entered and once she was in the tower, checked the status of her program. While it hadn’t narrowed down exactly where the person was, it was close. Remembering that Vel’Koz also did some work on it, Janna was already at the door before she again reminded herself about the library not being open yet. She made her way to the entrance near his office, she checked the corridor before entering.

 

           Vel’Koz, was as usual floating near the window and watching the city. He turned when he heard the door open. “Ah Janna, any progress?”

 

           “Yes actually. But it’s not an exact lock.” Janna pulled her laptop from her bag and showed Vel’Koz the results. He then turned to his own computer.

 

           “Well we may have gotten lucky. My contacts were also not able to pin it down exactly, but they did manage to narrow as well. Let’s compare the maps.” Vel’Koz began typing quickly, much more quickly than Janna could have thought possible with only two tentacles. He pulled the map from Janna’s program and overlaid on his one, and they formed a very tight zone. “Well that is much better and that area is searchable.” Vel’Koz was about to continue when they heard footsteps in the hall. Janna quickly dived out of sight, but she didn’t need to.

 

           “If you wanted to try that, might I suggest next time to be not so…noisy.” Nasus said as he entered. Janna had managed to trip over a lamp and it made a very distinct sound as it hit the floor. She just smiled and shrugged. “Anyway, you wanted to be notified if the bad news went anywhere, well it did.” Nasus turned on the morning news.

 

           “The stories published overnight seem to paint the Guardians in a whole different light, and while the collateral damage is known, many didn’t suspect it was this bad.” Nasus flipped channels, and they all had similar stories. Janna was a first visibly crestfallen, but then her head snapped up and she went over to Vel’Koz’s computer. Nasus followed while Vel’Koz kept flipping between the morning stations.

 

           “There I knew it.” Janna said, and pointed to the images in the story and images that were already online. Many of them were from either the First Void War, or even older. Some were just outright pulled from other media. “They are fakes!”

 

           Nasus just smiled and nodded. “I have a few contacts and they should correct this quickly. The damage has been noticed, but mostly contained and it is usually cleaned up quickly. Well, mostly. That downtown incident is still being picked up.”

 

           “Good, now let’s hope they change their tunes in a few minutes.” Vel’Koz said, floating over as Nasus sent his media contacts the emails. They all waited around and sure enough, not more than 20 minutes later, the news had rapidly changed their tone, blasting the articles and repeatedly apologizing for their mistakes. Janna just sat in a chair with a smug look on her face.

 

           After listening to the rapid apologies, Janna went back to the web and saw the original author, under multiple screen names try and tear the news down, but they got called out on it. However, Janna noticed the comment stream, which usually is constant, suddenly die off. Quickly grabbing her computer, Janna rushed back to the tower. Nasus followed her while Vel’Koz stayed behind.

 

           Once Nasus arrived at the tower however, he found Janna transformed and sitting, well floating, at her laptop deep in concentration. “Something up?”

 

           “Well yes. You know how social media is, especially on calling someone out right?” Janna asked not looking up.

 

           “Very. Why?” Nasus was now curious as he walked over to look over the Guardian’s shoulder.

 

           “Well look at the comment stream, it suddenly died, and is slow to a crawl. I’m thinking that the people commenting are having their energy drawn and well you see the results.” Janna was talking so quickly that Nasus barely had time to process what was happening before the phone rang.

 

           “Nasus, I think we have a problem. More people are being affected by the seeker.” Vel’Koz said. Nasus had to remember for a moment on how he could thought speak through the phone, but remembered.

 

           “Yeah that is something Janna noticed as well. I think she is already on it.” Nasus replied noticing Janna on her phone already.

 

           “Oh pick up already sleepy head.” Janna said only to have it be picked up a second later.

 

           “What’s going on?” Lux’s voice on the other end was not only annoyed but still half asleep.

 

           “We have problems. Get her as fast as you can.” Janna replied but that wasn’t the end of the conversation.

 

           “Janna? What’s with your voice?” Lux asked, sounding a bit more awake.

 

           “I’m already dressed.” Janna said.

 

           “I’m on my way.” Lux now sounded fully awake and hung up just as fast.

 

           “One down.” Janna phoned Poppy who answered in much the same way.

 

           “What’s up girl?” Poppy said. She didn’t sound as sleepy as Lux, but still annoyed at being woken up this early on a weekend.

 

           “We have problems get here as fast as you can. I’m already dressed for the occasion.” Janna said, and just like Lux, Poppy suddenly was wide awake.

 

           “Adrenaline does wonders for a wakeup call doesn’t it.” Poppy said before handing up.

 

           “Indeed it does.” Janna said putting down her phone. Not more than 2 minutes later, Lux is appearing through the door, and Poppy followed close behind. While both weren’t transformed, it was obvious how the magic protection of the Star Guardians was working.

 

           “So what’s going on?” Lux asked as she pulled her locket while Poppy pulled her pendant.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Janna waited until Lux and Poppy were firmly back on the ground before continuing.

 

           “We have a very rough location for the hacker or whatever we are going to call them, as all of the negative stories are from one person. We also destroyed the articles and their credibility. However, there is those hardcore believers who will believe anything put out by someone. The other thing is that the comment stream. Look at it.” Janna pointed to the screen where she was mirroring her laptop. Lux and Poppy looked closely and while Poppy seemed clueless, Lux noticed it.

 

           “The comments aren’t coming steadily, and the trolls defending this person aren’t even responding after a period.” Lux mentioned after a few seconds. Poppy looked again, and then planted her head on her hammer as a clear indication that she missed the obvious. “I’m guessing energy drain?”

 

           “That’s my guess. I’m going to stay here and try and keep them distracted, along with getting you a better location. You two are going to have to search the area and find out where the seeker is.” Janna immediately turned back to her computer. Lux and Poppy stood there for a second, before realizing that having her call the shots with what she knew, was probably for the best. The two tore out of the tower and headed for the area. Janna kept typing and kept narrowing the zone little by little but it was slow going.

 

           Once they reached the edge of the zone, Lux and Poppy immediately started noticing the familiar cold. “Ok, look around and keep your eyes open. Whatever this place is, it will likely have some form of security system. More than the normal.” Lux quickly added as Poppy opened her mouth to comment about the load of security systems in the area. It was also apparent that someone contacted the police as they started arriving in force and began clearing buildings. Lux just sighed and they started their search. Every 5 minutes or so, they would get an update from Janna narrowing the area.

 

           “Ok this feels like a battle royale video game right now.” Poppy said as they moved again. Janna, or someone was apparently keeping the police updated on the locations as they kept moving. Eventually, Janna managed to narrow it down to a handful of buildings and she messaged that she is heading to join them as they couldn’t narrow it down any further. Lux decided to wait but it wouldn’t be quiet. Lux saw the police forming a perimeter and evacuating surrounding buildings, and when she saw who was walking towards them, it wasn’t going to be easy.

 

           “So, these 4 then?” Vi asked as she stopped next to the two Guardians.

          

           “That’s the best we can get.” Lux said, trying to avoid giving Vi an invitation to go in.

 

           “Ok then. We’ll keep the perimeter just try to keep damage to a minimum. My boss has made it clear that I’m not to interfere.” Vi said with a more than annoyed tone in her voice but she knew better than to disobey Caitlyn unless the situation changed rapidly. Vi walked back to her officers and Lux noticed her father in the crowd of them. Resisting the urge to keep staring Lux turned to see Poppy conversing with Debonair.

 

           “So decided to show up for this one?” Lux asked as she walked over.

 

           “I got hit last time. I don’t have the same protection that you girls do.” He said as he used his hammer for support while they waited for Janna, who showed up just a few minutes later.

 

           “We ready?” She asked.  


           “Yes. Ok move building by building and clear them of civilians and once we find the right one, then we have to go quietly. That seeker will be waiting for us.” Lux said as she started the team towards one of the buildings. Their senses immediately told them it was the wrong building, but they knew that they still had to clear it just in case. Moving through the building carefully, the four of them carefully moved civilians out and to the police who had moved in to cover them. After the first was clear, they moved the second and repeated the process.

 

           Once the second was clear, they were making the decision about which to clear next, when a shot rang out and the pavement nearby the team had a small dent in it. “Get down!” Lux said. The police quickly retreated and Lux turned to see Vi on the radio calling for reinforcements. A second shot rang out and Vi dived behind her cruiser as it impacted the metal next to her. Janna quickly moved to the cruiser to check on the police there and her barrier absorbed a third shot as she also took cover behind the cruiser.

 

           “Well this changes things. I wasn’t sure your powers could stop bullets.” Vi said as another shot rang out, impacting the cruiser again. Janna just shrugged. “Here take this. We will try and determine where the shots are coming from, but the shooter is already given up a lot of information.” Vi handed over a police radio and took a brief look up, but had to get back down quickly as another shot rang out. “All units report in.” Vi barked into the radio clearly trying to keep tabs on the rapidly escalating situation.

 

           Janna prepared to make a run back to the rest of the team, but another impact on the cruiser told her to remain put for the moment. Vi was visibly frustrated but after sticking her head out again briefly, she saw what she needed. “It’s the left one. Well when looking at the remaining two.” Janna peaked her head out and just before she ducked back down she caught sight of a glint, most likely from a scope.

 

           “I see it. We need to clear the other building. We can get our team to that building. Just keep your heads down. We don’t need any casualties today.” Janna said as she stuck her head out on the other side of the cruiser and signaled to Lux. For her part, Lux to the message, and knew the next part would be annoying. Turning to the ground between them and the building, Lux noticed more than a few barriers. Lux quickly ducked behind cover as another shot rang out, but it was followed by shattering glass a few seconds later. Lux tuned to see police counter snipers set up. Vi was clearly trying to cover them, and while Lux appreciated the effort, she saw Janna now annoyed.

 

           “Go.” Vi said to Janna, and she threw a barrier around herself, and moved to rejoin the rest of the team. Once Janna was with the rest of the team, Vi came over the radio. “You 4 ok?”

 

           “Yes. The counter snipers were unnecessary.” Lux said as she poked her head out again.

 

           “Procedure. Whoever this is, they are a bad shot and aren’t trying to move stealthily.” Vi said as she pulled a pair of binoculars from her cruiser and began redirecting the fire.

 

           “Ok here we go. Keep together, and use cover to get to the building. Move only after you hear shots.” Lux said, keeping her hand on the radio so the police also knew what was happening. Lux briefly released the button, “this situation is getting weirder by the second.” Lux poked her head out one more time, and after checking, she took off and the rest of the team followed behind her. Dodging from cover to cover to be safe, they eventually made it to the building in question. Lux made a motion at the door, and Poppy was all too happy to oblige.

 

           The team went through the front door only to immediately duck behind cover as void spikes flew right at them. Lux threw a barrier around the team to be safe, but they were entering a shooting gallery. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to be careful.”

 

           “Not necessarily. Give me a second, and let me examine it.” Janna carefully made her way over to the device, throwing up a barrier to absorb more void spikes in the process, and carefully crouched down behind it. “I knew it. Just stay there.” Janna said, and she vanished. Lux looked at the other two and every now and then they heard a trap trigger. Lux was now nervous, but just as she was about to go looking, Janna reappeared. “Can someone help me get to the basement. One of you two. The other go with Lux to the top floor.” Poppy immediately put her hand up. “As you climb, be careful, the traps are automated and you will have to dodge a lot of them. They have the system controlled from the basement, or at least the main hub for it. I can disable it from there. Go!”

 

           Lux and Debonair immediately set off towards the stairs. As they set off further up the building, it was clear that the seeker was preparing for this as they were dodging traps every few feet. The building itself was clearly a renovated office space as they were moving through cubicles, and offices most of the way up.

 

           On the third floor, they were walking through an almost literal minefield of traps. Debonair was shooting them as he could, while Lux shielded them both from ones he missed. “Oh look, you keep moving. Give up yet?” Lux recognized the familiar taunts from the seeker from their last encounter.

 

           “Does it look like it?” She responded, but almost immediately was dodging out of the way of more spikes. As they finally made their way to the fourth floor, they found it almost empty except for large series of computer banks on the far wall.

 

           “Well it seems like you survived the gauntlet, now can you survive the fire.” The Seeker was clearly still possessing the individual, who despite usual stereotypes, was a rather fit young man. “Dodge this.” He pressed a button on a device on his arm, and Lux managed to slam Debonair out of the way as more spikes flew at them. Lux however didn’t get off completely free as she took one in the leg. Wincing as it hit, she still managed to get back on her feet.

 

           “It’s going to take more than that to get rid of us.” Lux said defiantly as she gripped her baton tighter. “Take them out, I’ll keep you protected.” Deboniar started shooting at the various things all over the walls and ceiling. He took cover behind some of the pillars around the building as he moved, while Lux shielded him from the rest. The seeker just laughed until it pressed a button and nothing happened. “Lost control of something?” Lux taunted.

 

           “Impossible.” The seeker summoned void energy and blew the two of them back and checked the now completely offline system. “You will pay for this.” The seeker final roared out of its host and charged right at Lux and Debonair. However, it was soon flying back as Poppy knocked it into a wall. Janna was there a few seconds later and Zephyr did his thing and latched onto the seeker to slow it down. Poppy and Debonair roared up their hammers, swung, and both connected, sending the seeker flying into the opposite wall.

 

           “Well that got it.” Debonair said, only to have the seeker get up almost unscathed. “Or not…”

 

           “It will take more than that to take me down.” The seeker charged again, prompting a binding from Lux while Poppy ran alongside and got in a few nice hammer blows. However, nothing seemed to be working.

 

           “Find the crystal.” Lux said as she dodged yet another attack, and Poppy immediately knocked the seeker into yet another wall while Janna took off towards the roof. “Ok now play distraction time. Keep moving, keep hitting it, and don’t get caught.” For the next five minutes, the seeker and the team were dodging around until Poppy knocked the seeker into the wall, and it finally roared in pain.

 

           Getting up slowly, it took a peak outside and roared again. Lux threw another binding while Debonair threw an accelerated bolt from his weapon. Janna rejoined the fight and immediately had to dodge out of the way of an attack, but she sent the seeker flying into a wall with her monsoon. The seeker once again got up and charged, only to be met with Debonair’s hammer to its face, or what it could make out as a face. Lux fired a few bolts for good measure while She also threw a singularity to slow it down.

 

           Poppy charged again pinning the creature to the wall, while Lux jumped into the air. “Final Spark!” Lux threw her powers in the beam, and while it didn’t outright destroy the seeker, it wasn’t getting back up.

 

           “You’re defeated. Admit it!” Lux’s voice did betray her exhaustion a bit, but the seeker only laughed.

 

           “It matters not. I accomplished my goal.” It then turned to dust. The team looked puzzled until they all looked out the window, and while Debonair didn’t see anything, he saw the Guardians turning in panic and running to the roof. Once they were there, in the evening sun, the lights in the sky brought a whole new panic to the Guardians.

 

           “It was all a distraction for this. She got more than we thought.” Poppy said as she just looked up.

 

           “Indeed. This isn’t good. Look at their intensity. This won’t be good.” Janna shook her head as she spoke. Lux just remained silent, her head hung in failure.

 

           “Can someone let me in on what’s going on?” Debonair was enjoying the light show, but knew that it was probably bad.

 

           “You didn’t know from last time. But those lights, are Malzahar assault the magical barriers around this world with void energy to damage them. Given their intensity, this won’t be good.” Lux told him her head still looking down.

 

           “Well I guess this won’t be good. I should get going then. If you need help with one of those circles again, I’m sure you will find a way to get ahold of me.” Debonair said as he moved to the stairs.

 

           “I will be in a few days. It will be a new spot, but I’m sure you can find it.” Janna told him. Debonair nodded and left. He was gone for just a few minutes when Vi and Caitlyn walked onto the roof.

 

           “I’m guessing the light show isn’t something good?” Vi said, stating the obvious. Caitlyn just rolled her eyes and Lux finally picked her head up.

 

           “You know the barriers that defend this world?” Lux asked. Vi nodded, but as she did so, her face fell.

 

           “Oh...not good.” Was all she managed to say.

 

           “We’ll meet with Vel’Koz to try and get another repair but now they are beyond being repaired fully. We will have to take them down and renew them. Excuse us.” Lux said as she moved to the stairs. Janna and Poppy followed. Caitlyn moved forward to offer the team a ride, but Vi put her hand on Caitlyn’s shoulder and shook her head. Caitlyn nodded in reply.

 

           When they finally managed to get to the tower, the attack had stopped, but the damage was done as evidenced when they saw the damage on the globe. It was bad. Very bad. “He got more energy than we thought. The barriers will have to be replaced. I’m trying to move up the time table, but we need to have every single piece in place before we move, or else it won’t be good.” Vel’Koz said as the team entered.

 

           “Regardless of that, you three did everything you could today. Don’t sell yourselves short on that account. Without a full team, you can’t defend the barriers anyway.” Nasus said, trying to keep their spirts up, but the three of them just sank into chairs defeated.

 

           “We know, but that still doesn’t stop the fact we let Rek’Sai get away with an enormous amount of energy. We should have done more.” Lux just put her head on the table in defeat. Again.

 

           “You did all you could.” Vel’Koz floated over and put one of his tentacles on Lux’s shoulder. She pulled her head up and smiled briefly, but nodded. “We’ll just have to be ready in three days. That is when the circle will be.”

 

           “Ok then. We will be ready. In the meantime, let’s just get some sleep.” The three powered down and headed home. The team watched the news over the next few hours and noticed that they mostly called it just a random occurrence, but it seemed that they knew more than they were letting on. Frustrated beyond what she could take, Lux just locked herself in her bedroom for the remainder of the evening. Janna worked on homework where she could see the large TV just keeping it as background noise. Poppy followed Janna’s example.

 

           As the team went to bed that evening, Lux took one last look outside her windows. “Was it this bad last time?” Lux asked. Dorcha and Solas just looked at each other. After a few seconds, Dorcha hopped up onto the windowsill where Lux was sitting.

 

           “Worse really. Last time, we didn’t have time and the void was everywhere. Most of those memories are still fuzzy, but I do remember multiple times the team being heavily wounded in fights and general chaos being everywhere. Also the team was not native to this world save for Janna who was brought in at the last minute. Between the first war and the second brief conflict, Janna grew into a leader and she took over. The second conflict is what really did it. It was brief but effective. I just wonder why we can’t remember. This time around, we have the time for missteps and time is on our side. Don’t worry about it so much.”

 

           “Yeah.” Solas jumped up to also perk up their leader. “There is nothing you are doing wrong. Are you doing the best you can?” Lux just nodded in reply. “Then you are doing everything you can. Hopefully we can pin down this new Guardian soon, but until then, it will just have to be you three. With some help. Now get some sleep or you will regret it.” Lux just smiled and finally got into bed. Dorcha and Solas waited a bit before going to sleep as well as they looked at the moon and wondering what Malzahar had cooked up next.

* * *

            On the moon, Malzahar surveyed the damage and was very pleased with what happened. The energy they had burned was substantial, but it did more damage than they thought it would. The barriers were now beyond repairing until after the conflict. Malzahar knew that they could attempt another repair but this time they would be ready. Or at least as ready as they could be.

 

           “Rek’Sai, you need to be ready to respond when they attempt another repair. Our last attack didn’t so as much damage as this one which means they will need more time to repair. Be ready with your attack to disrupt that.” Malzahar said and Rek’Sai just nodded in reply.

 

           Malzahar turned and looked out the window at Runeterra and smiled. “Soon you will be mine and then the First Star will pay for its arrogance.” Malzahar laughed as he headed to his room.


	22. Here Comes Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the attack almost destroying the barrier, Vel’Koz worked quickly to get another repair circle planned and executed. The Guardians were working to keep the meeting secret but as the day ticked closer, more and more rumors about what actually happened circulate, it didn’t help with the tension. The Guardians knew that Rek’Sai would be watching them. Waiting for the right moment to strike.

            Lux woke up in the morning stretching and welcoming a new day, until she remembered what would be happening later, and suddenly she wanted to just go back to sleep. Solas seemed to be prepared for this, as was Dorcha who had slept on a cushion on the floor.

 

           “Ok sleepy head rise and shine.” Solas said hopping up onto the bed. Lux just turned over on her side in protest. “Come on now, you will regret it later if you don’t get up. Also I’m not giving you a choice.” Solas hopped over and pulled Lux’s blankets off her. However, they landed on Dorcha who was trying to avoid all of the fuss, waking the poro with a start. “Sorry.” Solas said, but was now dodging out of the way of both Lux’s foot, and Dorcha.

 

           Lux just sighed when she missed, but Dorcha kept up the chase and pulled herself out of bed. After coming back from the bathroom and seeing the two still seeing the two still going at it, Lux grabbed them both and held them apart. “Ok enough” and they stopped fighting.

 

           Lux headed downstairs where Garen was already finishing breakfast and ther mother was still home for some reason. “Oh Lux good. Please do enjoy breakfast.” Lux looked at the table again and it showed just how far their mother went in preparing it.

 

           “What’s the occasion mom?” Lux asked, not ignoring the food though.

 

           “Oh I’m just in a good mood.” She replied.

 

           “She got a promotion and a full week’s vacation.” Garen said, laughing a bit at look on their mother’s face. Lux got up and gave her a hug.

          

           “Congrats mom.” Lux returned to the table as they hear more footsteps and their father walked down, but seemed to take no notice of the lavish breakfast.

 

           “She woke me up with the cooking.” He said as she also sat down after Lux and Garen started at him. “She also told me last night.” He said as they all finally ate. Once breakfast was over, they all split into what they were going to be doing. Lux watched her mother clean up, refusing assistance and eventually plop herself on the couch. Their father had left a while ago for work, and Garen went to hang out with friends. Lux knew the circle wasn’t until later, so she just decided to play some games and unwind before the chaos that would be happening later tonight.

 

           Checking the clock on her computer, she noticed that it would probably be best to head to the tower and get ready. “Mom I’m going to see my friends. I’ll be back later.” She said as she walked out. Mrs. Crownguard just waved her hand in reply, clearly going to enjoy the silence that was to follow. Lux paced herself to the library, not wanting to waste too much energy, but also not wanting to get there last. Once she arrived, to her annoyance, she was there last as both Janna and Poppy were already waiting.

 

           “Don’t worry about it, we just got here. We’re still waiting on Vel’Koz and the final details of everything tonight.” Janna said as she noticed Lux’s extremely annoyed face. Instantly Lux’s expression softened and she sat down to wait. After 10 minutes, Vel’Koz finally hovered in.

 

           “Ah good you are all here, and I’m late aren’t I?” He said with the realization and checking his watch. The three just nodded in reply. “Well I guess you should know the details. We won’t be doing anything until this evening and as I’m sure you guessed, we can’t just fix them. This will be nothing but a patchwork job to put barriers in where some are extremely weak and reinforce others. We will eventually have to take the whole grid down and replace them all. I’m working that, but I can’t proceed until we have a full team.” The Guardians just nodded in response, clearly just listening for now.

 

           “If you three want do something for now, then you can. It will be quite a bit of time before we begin.” Poppy immediately pulled her pendant, transformed and headed upstairs. Janna pulled her laptop and began playing. Lux just went to the third floor and took a nap in her room. Vel’Koz went back to his office and his nervousness showed as he just went by Nasus without a second thought. Nasus then followed Vel’Koz back to his office and only when he closed the door did Vel’Koz seem to notice him.

 

           “Distracted?” Nasus asked, even though the answer was obvious.

 

           “Yes. I’m worked about tonight. I have no doubt we will get some work done, but I don’t know how much. I’m worried that we won’t even get through the critical checklist. I need to see the summoners. To go over the plan once again. Hopefully it won’t be too long. Can you manage?” Vel’Koz was almost out the door when he turned knowing he was asking a lot of Nasus. Nasus however, was just smiling.

 

           “Go. Just be ready. I doubt Rek’Sai will let us off easy. The team will need help tonight, so don’t go crazy.” Nasus warned as Vel’Koz breathed a sigh of relief. Well in his own way. Nasus began his usual rounds and after checking in on the Guardians around midday, they left a note saying they had gone to lunch, settled down and mentally prepared himself for the evening. That didn’t last long as a knock on the door disturbed his meditations.

 

           “I have instructions that I am to be…oh” Nasus paused as he opened the door to find Renekton standing there.

 

           “Now is that anyway to great your brother?” He said, struggling to contain his laughter. Nasus pulled the creature closer and they both embraced. “How are you doing? See managing this place I see.” Renekton said elbowing his brother in the ribs while doing so.

 

           “For now. What are you doing here?” Nasus asked as he closed the door behind him.

 

           “Oh we accomplished our mission. We found the perfect spot for Vel’Koz’s ritual or whatever, but I’m assuming the light show the other day wasn’t good.” It wasn’t a question but a statement. Renekton was a warrior at heart, but he also knew that glowing magical lights in the sky weren’t good.

 

           “No. Malzahar did a lot more damage than previously thought.” As Nasus trailed off, a black ball popped into Renekton’s lap. He smiled and petted it.

 

           “Oh good to see you too. Have a nice journey?” Dorcha asked as she turned to face the large reptile.

 

           “Yes. But it is nice to be home. Is there any way I could help with this ritual you will no doubt be performing soon?”

 

           “Indeed. It will be tonight, and we could always use another hand.” Nasus said looking at his brother. For someone who could be so brutal and harsh, the look of a poro, magical or not, always calmed him down.

 

           “Then I’m in. I could use some practice. In the meantime, I think I’ll head to my apartment and take a nap.” Renekton roared with a yawn and carefully made his way out, after putting Dorcha on Nasus’ desk. Nasus hugged his brother once more, and closed the door behind him.

 

           “He does seem nice, once you see around the edges. Still the person I remember.” Dorcha said as she made to leave.

 

           “Yeah he is. Now what did you want?” Nasus asked, Dorcha stopped in her tracks.

 

           “Oh right. The Guardians are back and asking when we will be leaving.” Dorcha said as she paused near the tube to take her back to the tower.

 

           “Probably around dusk. We will need to be careful that it isn’t detected. Rek’Sai and Malzahar will know when we start working, but until then, we need to buy as much time as possible.” Nasus said and Dorcha made her exit.

 

           Upon reentering the tower, Dorcha turned to the team. “Not until the evening. So you still have a few hours. I suggest you enjoy them because tonight will be a workout.” Dorcha then noticed Solas, who was already asleep. Taking the hint, she settled down next to him, while Lux went upstairs to do a bit of training, Janna got back onto her computer, and Poppy decided to start cooking something for dinner. The next few hours passed in relative quiet as Lux came back down and Janna went upstairs. Lux offered to help Poppy but she just turned Lux away. So instead, Lux just headed into the main library, picked up a book, and sat down to read.

 

           The dinner Poppy prepared for them was not only extensive, but almost put them into a coma with the quality. Even Nasus and Renekton were in attendance and there was still food left over. Once they had cleaned up all of the leftovers, they just sat around waiting for Vel’Koz to come, but once the time had come and past, they were all a little worried. As they started debating whether or not to go looking for him, he finally entered the tower.

 

           “I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?” Vel’Koz asked as Lux noticed his demeanor wasn’t one of sadness, but rather it seemed annoyance or frustration.

 

           “Bad news.” Poppy said, clearly wanting to get the hard stuff out of the way.

 

           “Well we won’t be doing anything today. One of the summoners is still sick, but she will be well enough tomorrow. Ok I should be more specific, the leader is still sick. She did seem fine this morning, but as they were preparing, her stomach couldn’t take it and while she did avoid throwing up, she said that there would be no way she could lead the circle this evening. So the good news is that tomorrow is when everything will happen. I’m sorry to have kept you here all day but this is how things go. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Vel’Koz slowly hovered out while Nasus and Renekton stood up.

 

           “Well I guess we’ll see you three tomorrow then. Good night.” Nasus said as he and his brother left, Lux turned to the rest of the team.

 

           “Well I guess it is tomorrow then. Let’ s just get home safe.” They got up to leave but no sooner had they reached the door, then a wave of cold washed over them. “So much for a quiet evening. Let’s go girls.” The three of them put the bags down, Lux pulled her locket, while Poppy and Janna pulled their pendants.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” The three of them quickly left the tower via one of the concealed entrances and it wasn’t hard to find the sources of the chaos. The usual weekend market in one of the city’s central squares was clearly the source of the attack as Rek’Sai seemed to be employing a few Zzs to do the hard work while she rounded up energy.

 

           “I guess it was a good thing that we aren’t doing the other thing tonight.” Poppy said before she gripped her hammer and charged into the fight. Lux and Janna followed quickly focusing on the Zzs while Poppy headed straight for Rek’Sai, who clearly wasn’t expecting a response, much less one this quick. All Rek’Sai had time to do was turn her head and to see Poppy right there with her hammer, before said hammer was into her side and Rek’Sai found herself flying across the market and into a wall. Roaring in rage, as she got up, Rek’Sai charged again, only to be met with another hammer as Debonair joined the fight.

 

           “I really need to get some invitations, or I keep missing them.” He said to Poppy as Rek’Sai flew into the same wall again.

 

           “Sorry, it just sort of happened. No time to tell anyone.” Poppy got them both to laugh a bit before Rek’Sai picked herself up. “Go switch out.” Poppy said to Debonair and he took a quick look around, saw Lux and Janna, and headed over.

 

           “So you challenge me alone? How funny.” Rek’Sai taunted Poppy.

 

           “I don’t need anyone else burrower.” Poppy taunted back, and charged straight at Rek’Sai, who dodged the initial attack, but still wound up with a hammer in the face.

 

           Lux and Janna were more focused on deleting the Zzs that were scattered around the park, while they knew Poppy could handle Rek’Sai on her own. However, while they managed to keep track of most of them, they lost track of a reasonably sized one that charged straight at Janna, only to be met with Debonair’s energy pulse. Janna, who both deployed her own barrier, and ducked to absorb the blow, opened her eyes and smiled. Debonair headed down her and helped her to her feet.

 

           “The Blue one said switch out. I’m not sure what it means.” Debonair said as he fired another pulse at one flanking Lux.

 

           “It means I go help her, and you stay here and delete these things.” Janna said and she moved off quickly to help Poppy while Debonair, looking a bit put out, still smiled and began shooting pulses at any Zz that moved, and a few that didn’t. Lux kept up her attacks, but switched to more of a support role as she kept the Zzs off Debonair while he took them out. Well most of them, Lux wasn’t about to sit out a fight if she could help it. Just when they felt they were clear, the ground shook a bit and they both turned.

 

           “Well, someone’s been eating.” Lux said as an enormous Zz made its appearance. “Keep it at range and just poke it down. Try aiming for its belly and its head.” Debonair nodded, and they both broke in separate directions as the Zz charged and missed them both. Lux turned and threw a binding while Debonair threw an energy pulse, both connected, and Debonair sent another few pulses its way, while Lux threw a few bolts from her baton as well. The Zz roared, and trampled a few booths in the process while it turned, but Lux looked around and seeing many of them already destroyed, hoped that people wouldn’t be too mad.

 

           The Zz charged again and again it missed as Debonair just dived out of the way and it instead caught a few more pulses and Lux’s singularity. Lux threw another binding to root it, but it missed and she then had to dive out of the way as it charged at her. As Lux got to her feet, still not regretting the decision to put training into rolls, threw another singularity which it. Lux and Debonair threw bolts and pulses at it and it seemed to finally go down, before getting up and roaring again. Just as it was about to charge again, something blue hit it and they both went into a wall. Poppy picked herself up from the impact, grabbed her hammer, and charged right back at Rek’Sai, who had apparently slammed Poppy into the wall.

 

           “Good thing those are soft.” She said as she raised her hammer above her head. Lux and Debonair just stood there trying to process what just happened, until the Zz roared again.

* * *

            As Poppy noticed Debonair racing away, she knew that it would be a minute before Janna arrived. “Well then, how about we have a little 1v1?” Poppy said as she and Rek”Sai just stared at each other. Poppy waited for her to make the first move, but so did Rek’Sai. The end result was both of them waiting until Janna had positioned herself behind Rek’Sai, and Poppy could feel the wind she put off. Making her move, Poppy charged, and while Rek’Sai was more than far enough away to dodge, not with Janna positioned where she was. Also, Zephyr attaching to her and slowing her down.

 

           Janna repositioned and Poppy hit Rek’Sai head on, knocking the void burrower across the field and clearly doing damage. Rek’Sai got to her feet, and charged at Janna, who had clearly been expecting another attack and dodged gracefully out of the way while again hitting Rek’Sai with Zephyr and then a few bolts from her staff. Poppy was right there to greet her as well, and hit the burrower in the body with a heavy hammer blow. The blow dazed Rek’Sai enough to where she didn’t avoid a stall, which she just crashed into.

 

           Poppy came around for another attack and hit Rek’Sai again while charging her into another stall. How it didn’t collapse wasn’t something Poppy wanted to think about for the moment, but what she did think about was how Rek’Sai would be responding to that. Clearly another hard blow got to her as Rek’Sai was slow to get back to her feet and once she did, it was almost like she was drunk in how she was moving. Taking a swipe at Poppy, who was still close, she missed and then trying to charge at Janna, only to burrow into the ground.

 

           Janna and Poppy immediately went back to back and began feeling around for Rek’Sai, who was clearly still a bit woozy as she was moving around with some irregularity. Once it was clear that she as making her way towards the duo, they dived out of the way, but Poppy still ended up taking a few hits because of her irregular movements. Rek’Sai’s brief moment of clarity was short lived because Poppy quickly responded to Rek’Sai’s attack with another hammer blow to the face. Rek’Sai immediately went back underground and Janna and Poppy went back to back again, but stayed a little further apart this time.

 

           Rek’Sai regained some of her senses, and charged at the duo again, but missed as Janna and Poppy managed to get out of the way of Rek’Sai unburrowing and they both got a few shots in before she dove back underground. The third unburrowing yielded the same results as the second as the duo managed to dodge out the way again, but as Poppy was coming in for a counter attack, Rek’Sai still had enough senses to lash out with her tail, and sent Poppy flying.

 

            Poppy readied herself for a hard impact, but instead she hit something soft, then something hard. Poppy got up from the ground to see Lux and Debonair staring at her. Poppy turned to see the thing she impacted and it was a giant Zz. “Good thing those are soft” Poppy said before raising her hammer above her head and charged straight at Rek’Sai who was trying to get close to Janna, only to keep failing. Rek’Sai turned too late to see what Poppy was doing and soon found herself flying through the air and instead of wanting to continue the fight, ripped open a portal and vanished through it.

 

            “Well let’s see how the others are doing.” Janna said as she turned to see the Zz clearly trying to do something to Lux and Debonair, but kept missing. Janna and Poppy both rushed over to help and just as the Zz was about to connect with Lux, she threw a binding, and Poppy and Debonair both hit opposite sides of it, first squeezing it, then sending it straight into the sky. The four of them just stood dumbfounded as it crashed roughly where it had been. Clearly it was also dumbfounded as it just stood there but Lux nodded to everyone.

 

            “All together!” She yelled as she threw another singularity, Janna wound up a twister, Poppy threw her buckler and hit it hard with her hammer, and Debonair threw several pulses from his weapon, and one accelerated one to finish it off. The Zz turned to dust and the team looked around at the devastation around them and knew there would be a lot to pay for this. Just as they were thinking about it, they saw Caitlyn working her way towards them. Lux nodded to the rest before moving to meet her.

 

            “Well that could have been a lot worse.” Caitlyn said to Lux as she stopped in front of her. Lux just stood there looking a bit surprised. “None of them blame you for anything if that is what you’re thinking. They are more thankful that you put a stop to it quickly before things got worse. Go now, and I’ll deal with this. Or better yet, I have some new trainees. I’ll get them to deal with it while I sort out a few other things.” Caitlyn moved away, leaving Lux even more dumbfounded as she slowly turned back towards the rest of the team, seeing Debonair had already gone wasn’t much of a surprise.

 

            “Well she just said to leave and she’d do the cleanup work.” Lux told Janna and Poppy and they both just nodded and they headed for the tower. As they walked past the people that were in the market, some receiving medical attention, there wasn’t one look of anger, of frustration, of rage. They were all of grief for those who lost something, a family member was injured, or a friend injured; thankfulness that the Guardians did show up when they did; Nods of thanks from those who watched the team walk through the crowd; Finally, those that showed resilience in the face of the attacks.

 

            Lux could only show a stoic face of the same reliance that had sustained her through this whole ordeal. Janna had a smile on her face at the people around her who were showing the same strength she had come to recognize from them. Poppy also couldn’t help but smile because she saw the same thing as Janna did. All three knew that the people wouldn’t like what was about to happen but all knew that the conflict would be escalating soon.

 

            Once they made it back to the tower, the three powered down and turned to the news and saw that it was also favorable. Lux sat back into a chair, well mostly, and somehow managed to fall onto the floor. The tension that had been between the three of them since the fight began immediately evaporated as they all started laughing. Lux even laughed a bit as she got up. While her clumsy moments haven’t been noticeable in recent weeks, the fact remains that once Lux gets really tired, she can’t help herself. Finally managing to get into the chair, Lux just sat back while Janna settled down across from her, and Poppy got a drink of water to calm her down.

 

            Vel’Koz entered a few minutes later to see all three were just trying to relax after the fight and waited a second for Poppy to join Lux and Janna at the table to start. “Well I have to say that you three managed to prevent a major crisis and given what the news and others I have spoken to have said, it seems that anger is directed towards the void rather than you but many of them also don’t know the danger we face here. I again spoke to the summoners, and they will be ready tomorrow night. Even if, and I quote this, ‘I need to be propped up and am throwing up the entire time’ endquote.” That got another fit of laughter from all four of them. “I suggest the three of your go home and get some sleep. You will need it.” Vel’Koz floated out, and was followed not too much later by the team as they left for home.

 

            While Lux and Poppy managed to get home without incident, Janna came across Garen and Jayce while walking home, and noticed Jayce was a bit off. Quickly ducking behind a tree, Janna listened intently. Zephyr also got close, but was able to get a lot closer since he could be in a tree.

 

            “…you can keep this up. Whatever you are doing in your spare time is really starting to take a toll on you dude.” Garen said, as he was patching up a wound on Jayce’s leg. Janna saw that it was light, but clearly painful.

 

            “Yeah I know, but I feel like I still have to do something.” Jayce sat back on the bench and winced again as Garen did a bit more cleaning. Janna chanced a careful look and saw the wound was mostly healed.

 

            “I can’t keep this up much longer. My mom is already asking questions about medical supplies in the house and if it gets much worse, it might fall on my sister. The problem with that is it wouldn’t believable. So either learn to dodge better, or whatever, and stay healthy, or find another way to do whatever you are doing. Come on, let’ s get you home. Janna ducked back behind a tree as they passed and instead of going home, made a detour for Lux’s house. Arriving there, Janna knocked on the door. Lux answered it.

 

            “Hey can you talk for a sec?” Janna asked, indicating the yard. Lux nodded and closed the door behind her. “You haven’t been taking medical supplies from your mom have you?”

 

            Lux just looked dumbfounded and stood there for a few seconds before answering. “No, but she has asked why?”

 

            “Well I saw Jayce and Garen in the park by my house and Garen was patching up Jayce after he clearly suffered some form of injury. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but I just wanted to warn you. Also see if you can find out what Jayce is doing.” Janna said, but Lux was a bit puzzled at being given spying orders.

 

            “You have a suggestion on how I can manage that?” Lux asked. A bit of snarky tone in her voice betrayed her.

 

            Janna took a second to process that. “Yeah, now that I think about it, it would be harder than I thought. Maybe it’s nothing, but either way, I wanted to put you on guard.”

 

            “I’ll keep an eye on him, but I can’t promise much.” Lux said as Janna turned to go. Lux went back inside, and thought a bit more before pulling her phone and texting Janna.

 

            ‘Wait, where was Jayce wounded?’ Lux kept a careful eye on her phone and when Janna responded she was left even more curious.

 

            ‘Well on his leg, but it didn’t look like a sport injury. That is why I was curious.’ Janna sent. ‘Why?’ She sent a moment later.

 

            ‘Nothing. I have to see something later but I have a theory. I just hope it’s wrong.’ Lux sent back and Janna seemed to leave it there as she didn’t text back. Lux was about to call Poppy when she saw that Poppy was already calling her. “Hey Poppy need something?”

 

            “Yeah, You couldn’t get access to a healing patch could you? My dad was a bit careless…”

 

            “I was not!” Came a voice from the background.

 

            “As I said, a bit careless with the forge and he burnt himself a bit. And of course he won’t go to the hospital.” Poppy finished

 

            “I’ll speak to my mom. I’m sure we have one somewhere around here.” Lux said and she hung up. Lux headed downstairs to the TV room to find her mother there, just relaxing after her shift. “Hey mom. Just got a call from Poppy. Her dad burnt himself a bit on his forge. Any way I could take a healing patch over to him?” Lux kept her voice neutral and made it sound like a request for a friend.

 

            “Sure. Here let me get one. By the way you haven’t been taking them have you? I’ve noticed you limping a bit lately.” Lux just turned to her mother as she finished and smiled.

 

            “No. Why?” Lux asked, trying to keep her voice neutral remembering what Janna said.

 

            “Oh just a few have going missing, I think your brother is taking them for whatever reasons. Just curious. Here you go.” Mrs. Crownguard handed over one of the patches from their supply and Lux just nodded and ran out the door. As she walked to Poppy’s place, Lux turned over a lot in her head and almost walked past Poppy’s house because she was thinking too hard. Lux knocked on the door and Poppy answered quickly.

 

            “Thanks. My dad can be so stubborn sometimes. What were you thinking about? I mean you almost walked right past.” Poppy said as Lux handed over the patch.

 

            “Just a theory. I don’t have enough yet but I’m going to work on it. Anyway, need anything else?” Lux said as she turned to go.

 

            “Nope. Thanks again. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Lux just nodded and headed back home. While on the way back home, Lux turned over a lot of thoughts in her head about the following day and what could happen. Lux at least managed to at least not pas sup her own house and after she walked back inside, and not hearing any arguments, she went into her room and closed the door. Quickly turning on her computer and setting it to a radio station, she turned to Dorcha and Solas.

 

            “What do you two think our changes are for tomorrow?” Lux asked, sounding nervous. The two looked at each other carefully.

 

            “I would say mixed. We know that the void will try to disrupt the ritual tomorrow but we don’t know how. I doubt they will want us to get away with much. The last time, Kha’Zix didn’t get the desired results so they will make more of an effort to disrupt everything. Since we know that, we can prepare for it, but we also know that they will hit us harder. We would need to ensure that they can’t breach the perimeter but I still think it will happen.” Dorcha said, trying to sound upbeat, but not doing so well.

 

            “Well that does wonders for my confidence. And what about you? Found the next Guardian yet?” Lux turned to Solas, rather than responding, just leapt through the window. “I’m guessing he hasn’t?” Lux asked, but Dorcha was already laughing, which got Lux to giggle a bit. Knowing that thinking about the next day’s inevitable conflict would just make her more miserable, Lux decided to turn in early.

 

            The following morning saw the team awakening to an overcast day that was cooler than normal, but a natural, rather than artificial cool. Lux just sat at her window for a bit while she looked at Dorcha and Solas, who were still sleeping and smiled. She knew that the two of them were doing all they could but there wasn’t much they could do being so small. Lux just sighed and headed down for breakfast.

 

            Janna likewise just looked out her window for a bit after she woke up with Zephyr alongside. Looking outside, Janna could only wonder what the night would bring and how bad it could be for all of them. It could be good or bad and she knew the whole thing rested on a razor’s edge. “Well at least tonight will be interesting.” Janna said to Zephyr, who just nodded in reply, before rubbing his head along Janna’s arm, and Janna just scratched him on his head and back as a result.

 

            Poppy just continued to stay in bed until she knew she couldn’t anymore. It wasn’t raining, so her favorite type of day was already gone, but overcast was enough for her. She knew that tonight would be a fight and she would be ready for it. Still though, she just didn’t want to get out of bed regardless.

 

            Once the team made their way to the tower, it was only a matter of time, and normally the waiting bit was annoying, but they all found ways to pass the time without burning too much energy. Lux and Janna played games, while Poppy just watched TV on the couch. They all had dinner together and then the waiting game truly began. Near dusk, Vel’Koz entered the tower.

 

            “Ok. We are all ready to go. We’ll meet you three at the dock.” He said and hovered out. Lux turned to the other two and they nodded.

 

            “Star Guardian Power Up!” When they had taken a second to mentally prepare themselves, they grabbed their cloaks, Janna and Poppy headed to the dock, while Lux grabbed Dorcha and Solas, and followed quickly behind. The drive to the location was almost an out of body experience for them as they watched everyone around them, who had little idea what was about to happen just go about their daily lives.

 

            Once they arrived at the location, which was the same as last time, they immediately set up. Dorcha and Solas, moved to cover gaps between the three Guardians while Nasus and Vel’Koz set themselves up near the summoners as a final defense in case Rek’Sai got past them. However, as they were about to begin, Vel’Koz called the team to circle, but he wasn’t the one who spoke.

 

            “I know you three have a lot on your plate, so we are going to take a few precautions ourselves. We will cast a few protective spells and places some runes so protect us. However, they won’t last forever, but they might last long enough. This will take a lot of time for us to try and at least patch up what we need to so I know this is a lot on you three, but just do your best and we will make use of every second you give us.” The lead summoner told them. As soon as she finished, they got to work. The team stayed around to see the protective spells being cast and they headed back to their positions. Lux noticed Debonair coming and pointed him to the far side of her and he seemed to take the hint that they would be covering a quarter of the area each.

 

            The first 20 minutes pass by slowly and the team slowly was getting anxious because there was no way at this point that Rek’Sai or anyone with the void hadn’t noticed what they were doing. The whole team was wearing headsets to communicate and so far it was just regular checkins with nothing going on. It was another 10 minutes before the fireworks began.

 

            Poppy was keeping an eye out before she noticed something coming out of the trees. “I’m going to need some help over here.” Poppy yelled as she charged out of the protective treeline around the summoners. Debonair quickly broke cover to join her and immediately opened up with his weapon at the large horde of Zz that came charging out. Dorcha and Solas quickly moved to cover gaps in the view while Lux and Janna kept a careful eye on the rest, or at least as much as they could.

 

            Just as Lux turned her back, she felt something, and quickly threw a binding, catching Kha’Zix before he could jump onto her. Rolling out of the way, Lux threw a couple of bolts him, and Kha’Zix had apparently forgotten how much they hurt as he roared, then tried to charge again, only to trip up from the pain. “Oh forget that?” Lux taunted, before switching tone. “Kha is back, be careful. Purp, head over to help Blue and Debonair, come switch out. I’ll keep him busy.” Lux said into her headset and Janna reacted quickly. They agreed back at the tower that since Debonair was there, they would go by their transformed hair colors rather than their names as a precaution.

 

            Debonair quickly made his way across and swapped with Janna who moved to help Poppy with the horde of Zz that were coming, but no sooner had they switched, they all realized it was a bad switch. Poppy was the one to notice first.

 

            “Hey Debonair, come back and switch with me. I’ll keep an eye on the other area, while you could do more good here, but I’m not moving until you get here so move quickly. Debonair moved quickly and once he was in range with the ranged version of his weapon, Poppy sprinted back to cover the other side, catching sight of Lux’s battle with Kha’Zix along the way, and it appeared that Lux was more than handling herself. Poppy kept a careful eye out for Rek’Sai, who was probably going to use the distraction to get as close to the circle as possible.

 

            Kha’Zix for his part, did forget how much Lux’s bolts hurt but he also forgot how much she had likely improved since their last fight, Even his invisibility tricks weren’t helping him as Lux threw spell after spell after spell at him. Lux wasn’t going to let herself get bested by him again, and while she knew that Rek’Sai was probably using everything around them as a distraction, she knew that letting Kha’Zix past would be more damaging than ignoring him. “Had enough yet guardian?” Kha’Zix taunted, but instead of replying with words, Lux just threw a singularity in his face, which detonated with enough force to knock him back.

 

            “No. Looks like you have though.” Lux taunted and threw a binding, then leaped into the air. “Final Spark!” Lux connected and Kha’Zix dropped to his knees, but looked up smiling.

 

            “My mission is accomplished.” Kha’Zix taunted. He ripped open a portal and vanished through it. Lux was questioning what he meant, but when it hit her, she sprinted towards the circle. All of the attacks were just to bait out her spark, which she had to take time to regenerate her energy before using it again.

 

            “This is all a distraction, Rek’Sai is here and she used everything to bait out my spark. Fall back and defend the circle.” Lux yelled as she approached the interior clearing where Nasus and Vel’Koz were carefully watching everything and Poppy was on the opposite side.

 

            “Debonair, Purple, how are things going?” Lux asked as she carefully kept her eyes open.

 

            “The Zzs have disappeared. Rek’Sai is here but I don’t know where. We are coming back.” No sooner had Janna finished talking, then the ground shook and Lux turned to yet another gigantic Zz approaching. “Well looks like we are going to lose a few trees.” Janna said as she moved as quickly as possible. Lux moved to intercept it with Debonair right in front of Janna, while Poppy moved to the circle to provide additional protection.

 

            “So how much have they gotten done?” Poppy asked Vel’Koz while keeping an eye out.

 

            “They are just at the end of the critical list. If we can at least get this done then we will be fine, but there is also more that everyone would like to get to.” Vel’Koz replied as he also kept turning to see what was going on. “Oh good reinforcements.” Vel’Koz seemed a little relieved as he saw Renekton emerging from the near side of the treeline.

 

            “Great. What are the odds we get to those lists?” Poppy asked.

 

            “As of right now? Not good.” Vel’Koz replied dejectedly.

 

            Lux took notice of Poppy staying back, and she shifted back towards a more offensive hybrid role as she and Debonair kept the Zz going between them, while Janna kept them safe, and occasionally sent the Zz flying into the air. Lux knew that this was just another distraction, but it wasn’t until she heard Poppy over the radio yelling, that she knew for certain. Lux threw a binding to keep the Zz pinned while she noticed a portal opening on the near side of the trees.

 

            “Oh no not good!” Lux immediately sprinted towards the portal, but was knocked back by Rek’Sai who finally made an appearance. Lux managed to catch herself in a roll, sliding along the ground on her feet before coming to a rest. ‘I’m never going to be able to repeat that or show it off. Classic movie scene.’ Lux thought to herself as she turned to Rek’Sai.

 

            “So you decide to show yourself at least.” Lux said as she moved carefully around trying to keep herself between the Rek’Sai and the summoners. However, Lux looked out of the corner of her eye and saw that Vel’Koz, Nasus, Renekton, and Poppy were having issues dealing with the small horde of Zzs that had reappeared.

 

            “So little Guardian, you may slow me down, but you won’t stop me.” Rek’Sai taunted, and Lux knew she was right. Even with four people, it was hard holding off that amount of Zzs. Lux also knew that Debonair and Janna would take time to destroy the larger one, and she couldn’t leave Rek’Sai unattended.

 

            “We’ll just see about that” Lux yelled and threw a binding.

* * *

            Poppy sent a few more Zzs into the air as she attempted to make it to the portal but kept getting blocked. She saw Nasus and Renekton trying their best to also help stem the tide but even with them dashing about, placing runic circles, and Vel’Koz firing at any that got through, it still wasn’t enough. Several Zzs had already made it through, impacting the shield around the summoners and while it wasn’t disrupting them, it was only a matter of time. Their magic was powerful, but using it now could cause a lot more problems than it would solve.

 

           “We need to hold this line. If any more get through, it will end the ritual.” Poppy yelled as she charge again, destroying several, but their places were soon refilled. Renekton was doing all he could, but now he realized why the Guardians were close to being overwhelmed.

 

           “Brother, why did I get myself into this mess?” Renekton yelled as he sliced through yet another 10 or so Zzs.

 

           “Because you could never turn down a good fight.” Nasus yelled back, bringing his staff down on a Zz, and casting another runic circle. Renekon just nodded in reply, for it was rather accurate.

 

           Poppy just took a second to roll her eyes before taking out another cluster of Zzs. Poppy charged through another pod and managed to turn to Lux’s, and Janna and Debonair’s fights. And neither seemed to be going well. Knowing they were on their own, Poppy charged right back into the fight.

* * *

            Janna threw another twister, as Debonair took a few more shots at the Zz with his cannon. “This isn’t working.” He yelled as the Zz charged him again, making him dive out of the way.

 

           “If you have a suggestion, I’d be happy to hear it.” Janna yelled back as she threw a barrier on him and sent a twister in the direction of the Zz. Janna briefly turned to see the other two fights, and knew that all three were losing battles and they needed to be finished quickly. Janna kept ahold of her monsoon, knowing it could do a lot damage, but also knew that she would have to take time to regenerate the energy to us it again. With all of the constant fighting going on, it would be challenging.

 

           The Zz charged again, and Janna found herself diving out of the way while Debonair sent several more pulses its way and Zephyr latched on the Zz, slowing it down. Debonair transformed his weapon, and went at it with a hammer while Janna kept him safe. After a few dozen blows, the Zz finally showed signs of letting up, but it wasn’t beaten yet.

  
           Debonair signaled to Janna for a barrier, and he summoned his strength, charged the weapon, and hit the Zz so hard that it flew back into the trees, knocking a few over. Janna just groaned, surely someone had heard this noise by now. Janna didn’t get a second more to think as the Zz charged again, but she sent Zephyr to slow it down, a twister to knock it into the air, while Debonair just unloaded on it with his weapon. And that still didn’t do it.

 

           The Zz took a swipe at Debonair, but missed. Janna charged another twister while Debonair readied his weapon. Throwing the twister, Debonair hit it back into the trees again. They both were about to charge again, when they noticed a light beam, and Lux’s spark finally destroyed the Zz. Janna turned to see Lux land back on the ground and immediately dodge out of the way of Rek’Sai who was clearly enraged.

 

           “Go help deal with the Horde, I’ll help Pink.” Janna said to Debonair, and he moved off to assist, while Janna moved to help Lux, who had already taken quite a few hits, and upon arriving, Janna managed to shield Lux from another Rek’Sai lunge, then charged up her Monsoon, sending Rek’Sai into the trees.

* * *

            Lux knew that she had to hold Rek’Sai by herself, and knew that it would take a lot, but she also knew how many people were counting on her, and that gave her strength. The problem remained that Rek”Sai and she were still mostly watching each other, but finally Rek’Sai made the first move, earning a singularity to the face while Lux threw a couple of bolts her way. Rek’Sai roared, but recovered and charged again.

 

           Lux rolled out and threw a binding, which not only connected, but got Rek’Sai knocked into the air. Vel’Koz threw a rupture her way as he had a brief moment as Poppy and Renekton annihilated a whole line of Zzs. Lux just nodded, and threw a few more bolts, which connected, causing Rek’Sai to turn back to her and charge. Lux threw a barrier around herself and Rek’Sai only connected with the light screen around Lux, causing even more pain.

 

           Not wasting the opportunity, Lux repositioned and kept her back to the summoners, while keeping Rek’Sai in front of her. Rek’Sai clearly wanted to change this, but Lux was playing defensively, and time was on her side. Knowing that all they had to do was stall long enough, Rek’Sai charged again, but this time she connected with Lux’s leg, causing a grunt of pain from the Guardian and Rek’Sai went invisible. Lux knew what was happening, and threw another barrier around herself only to have Rek’Sai hit it a second later leaving her a bit disoriented. Not wasting time, Lux threw more bolts and a singularity to do some damage and add insult to injury.

 

           Rek’Sai roared again, and burrowed. She knew that Lux would know if she tried to sneak past, but instead of charging straight for the circle, Rek’Sai took a round path, then charged again at Lux. Unburrowing, Rek’Sai missed the initial strike, but managed to get Lux in the back with her tail. As the Guardian fell, Rek’Sai got in a few slashes with her claws, but Lux still managed to at least land correctly so she didn’t had insult to injury. Spinning on her heals, Lux threw a binding that managed to catch Rek’Sai before she connected with the shield surrounding the summoners and threw more bolts.

 

           Lux then threw a singularity and forced Rek’Sai away from the circle, but they were clearly running out of time. As Rek’Sai charged again, Lux couldn’t throw her barrier up in time, but still found herself shielded as Rek’Sai again bounced off, then Janna charged up and released her monsoon, which flung Rek’Sai back into the treeline. Lux regained her strength in the rains and stood up again, and while her wounds weren’t fully healed, she had more than enough strength to get back on her feet.

 

           Rek’Sai was now enraged and with few options available summoned another portal and more Zzs poured out of it. Rek’Sai burrowed and seemed to get away. Lux and Janna turned to see the new portal and the seven defenders quickly split up to try and defend what they could. Lux, even while moving, knew their time was running out. The Zzs were overwhelming the thin defense line that was set up wasn’t going to hold for long. Lux turned away from where Rek’Sai vanished and set up trying to stem the flow.

 

           For all of two minutes, the line seemed to be holding, but then it all feel apart. Rek’Sai unburrowed right under Vel’Koz and Lux knocking both of them into the air, and getting off a few swipes in the process. Before everyone else could react, Rek’Sai tore into the barrier, bringing it down. The summoners immediately broke their ritual and moved to defend themselves, and Rek’Sai got what was coming to her. Summoners were mostly retired, but their magic was still powerful, and very potent.

 

           The roar Rek’Sai gave shortly after the barrier fell, was not one of anger, but of pain. The summoners turned their magics on the portals next and destroyed them in a flash. Rek’Sai herself was not only wounded, but flung away from the circle and into the trees. The entire team surrounded Rek’Sai but just as they were about to finish her, yet another force shoved everyone back.

 

           “Well at least part of the plan worked. You guardians may have won this day, but you also have failed.” Malzhar’s voice sent shivers down everyone’s spines and Rek’Sai had vanished. Lux picked herself up from the ground and turned to the summoners.

 

           “Wait what did he mean?” She asked turning to Vel’Koz and the lead summoner.

 

           “He meant that while we did repair some of the damage, the most critical elements, and some of the serious breaches, we didn’t even get close to repairing the amount of damage the last team did. We repaired the critical elements to prevent another large scale breach, but if Malzahar attacks again, the barriers won’t take it. They will collapse at that point, all we can do is rebuild them. That will take time, effort, a lot of magic, but most importantly, a secure location.” The lead summoner just hung her head.

 

           “I’m working on that right now, but it unfortunately also needs time.” Vel’Koz said as he also seemed depressed with the outcome. Vel’Koz turned to the team and flicked on tentacle, which was their internal signal to meet back at the tower. Lux blinked twice and turned to Debonair.

 

           “Well thanks again as always. Get home, or back to wherever safely.” Lux said as Debonair turned to go.

 

           “Thanks. I’ll be fine. Hopefully. I’m sure we will see each other again.” He said, and quickly departed. Lux turned to the team and they headed out arriving at the tower about 10 minutes later. Once they were secure, they powered down and waited for Vel’Koz. Well Lux and Poppy did as Janna walked over to the globe and saw things she didn’t like, but kept it from the rest until Vel’Koz returned.

 

           After almost 30 minutes, Vel’Koz finally floated in with Nasus. “Well at least my brother can take a hint as to when we need to keep a secret. Anyway how bad is it?” Nasus asked as he turned to the globe.

 

           “Not good.” Janna said her voice low.” The critical elements were repaired, and a few more things, but Malzahar won’t have a problem getting larger things through now. Thought I doubt we will see Rek’Sai any time soon. We need to be prepared, because I doubt Malzahar will just give up, especially now.” Janna turned to her teammates, and both Lux and Poppy nodded.

 

           “Well then, we’ll be ready. Hopefully with some new friends, and a few old ones as well.” Lux said as they turned to the globe, and they all knew their mission got a lot harder. However, between the three of them, they knew somehow that they could, and they would survive it.

* * *

 

           On Runeterra’s moon, Malzahar observed Rek’Sai in a tank of void energy regenerating. He was pleased with what his servant had done, and more impressed with her final battle. Rek’Sai would need a long time before she could even leave the tank, let alone fight, but the next phase of the plan was already in place. Malzahar left the chamber to see Cho’Gath outside.

 

           “Well the mission was accomplished, mostly.” He said as he followed Malzahar down the hallway towards the throne room.

 

           “Indeed. Thought enough of the damage was repaired to the point where we can’t unleash the full plan.” Malzahar sounded frustrated and annoyed.

 

           “We still can’t wake the Baron anyway. He needs a lot more energy before he can rise again. He is still extremely weak and therefore any energy we collect must be put towards reviving him.” Cho’Gath said it before he lost his good side with Malzahar.

 

           “I agree. However, we will still have to save energy for another assault. We will have to split the incoming energy.” Malzahar moved to go, but paused and turned back to Cho’Gath.

 

           “There might be another way. Get Kog’Maw.” Cho’Gath was initially shocked, but quickly recovered. Malzahar went into the throne room where Kog’Maw joined him a few minutes later.

 

           “You called prophet?” Kog’Maw was somehow managing to control himself, much to the surprise of Malzahar.

 

           “Yes. I have a mission for you. And yes you can eat along the way.” He added quickly as he saw Kog’Maw quickly lose interest.

 

           “What can I help you with then oh great Prophet.” Kog’Maw just smiled as best he could, and Malzahar did as well.

 

           “The Guardians won’t know what hit them.”


	23. Purple and Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Defeat of Rek’Sai, the Guardians are hoping for some relief in terms of the pace of attacks. However, Kog’Maw is now on their case and hunting for something. What is he hunting for and will the Guardians be able to stop him from accomplishing his task?

           Three days. Is that all it has been? Seems like a lot longer. The Guardians were so hoping for some down time, and by down time they were hoping for a week, just enough to recuperate after the last series of attacks Rek’Sai launched. They were all tired and extremely nervous. The battle a few days ago had not gone their way and even if they had tried something in the last three days, it would have been futile. The summoners were exhausted and to attempt something like what they needed so soon afterward, would have been pointless. At this point all of their efforts were focused into the barrier rebuild, but to get there they would need a full team, something they don’t have.

 

           As Lux dragged herself out of bed at the beginning of the week, she realized she didn’t want to go to school as she was still enjoying the fact she got to sleep soundly the previous night. However, her mother wasn’t in agreement. “Luxanna get out of bed!” She yelled up the stairs and Lux just groaned.

 

           “Get up before she comes in.” Dorcha said, hopping from Lux’s side and onto her stomach. Lux just looked at her and rolled her eyes. Getting out of bed, not by choice, Lux made her way downstairs and plopped at the table to eat breakfast with her brother. Garen just seemed to be actually awake today while Lux was her usual self and just not ready for the day.

 

           “Lux you’re late.” Lux jumped for a moment before turning to Garen and throwing her toast at him. Lux went back to eating before heading back upstairs, changing, and heading out the door. While walking to school, Amy joined up.

 

           “Hey sleepyhead? Another rough night?” Amy asked as Lux seemed to barely acknowledge her presence.

 

           “No. Just didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. So the usual.” Lux responded as they turned a corner.

 

           “Well it can’t be all bad. I mean it’s been three days since the last attack so maybe the void creatures have been scared off. I mean there is no way they could continue is there?” Amy’s voice turned from upbeat to scared almost at the drop of a hat. Lux turned to her and smiled.

 

           “Who knows, but if I had to guess, I doubt it. There’s always a plan and I doubt they are done. Just a hunch but ever hear of the calm before the storm?” Lux said as she continued so just for now, put one foot in front of the other. Lux just let Amy talk for the remainder of the walk and actually managed to make it to class on time, but it seemed like there would be no rest for her as Ms. Teller handed out a pop quiz, much to the annoyance of the class.

 

           “Oh you can all just calm down. You knew this quiz would be coming sooner or later, and since most of you seem to be asleep today, I guess today’s the day. Lux just groaned again but knew she was right. However Lux took one look at the quiz and just rolled her eyes. It was what she didn’t want, considering she barely glossed over the reading from the previous night, she knew that this wouldn’t end well. Lux took a brief glance at Amy who was already hard at work, and Poppy who was clearly in Lux’s mindset for once.

 

           The quiz however was over soon enough and Lux was able to catch up on her daydreaming and Ms. Teller didn’t seem to care. Every now and then Lux wrote something down but it wasn’t until she heard a door close that Lux, and apparently most of the class, actually looked up. Ms. Teller was in the hallway with the Headmistress and after a few minutes, they came back in, followed by a yordle with bright purple hair. Lux found herself instantly waking up and she noticed Solas popping up from her backpack. Now, curious, Lux carefully studied the new student.

 

           “Class, this is Lulu. She is a new student here and will be moving from our class to another. Lulu would you mind telling the class a bit about yourself?” Ms. Teller paused only to see Lulu just looking out the window. Ms. Teller cleared her throat and Lulu seemed to pick up on it.

 

           “Sorry. Um hi.” And it seemed that would be it, and Lulu floated into one of the empty seats, only to continue to stare out the window. Lux just rolled her eyes, but Solas, it seemed, was more interested. Lux noticed the poro trying to get a better look, and that caused Lux to also look. She was extremely curious as she also saw something popping up from Lulu’s bag. Solas looked at Lux from her lap and nodded. Lux put her head on her desk, in an attempt to make it look like she was looking out the window so Solas could whisper in her ear.

 

           “I can’t for certain, but there is something about her.” Solas said, while keeping his voice extremely low.

 

           “Apart from the fact she seems a bit absent minded?” Lux said, also keeping her voice low. Lux turned to head to see Josh sitting next to her, who was just zoning out, and Sarah in front of her, who likewise was zoned out. Turning to see Lucas behind her was a bad idea since that would attract attention, but there seemed to be nothing wrong, as Solas popped out and then pointed a paw at the window to indicate where Lucas was looking.

 

           “I’ll keep an eye on her for now, until then just play it normal.” Solas said as he hopped back into Lux’s bag and she could hear him getting Dorcha awake. Lux just kept an eye on her as well, as Lulu seemed to be in her own mind, rather than actually present, but now that Solas said something, Lux noticed it too. There was definitely something off about her.

 

           When the bell rang for Lux, the whole class filed out, but Lulu took her time, which was enough for Lux to walk by her and there was something, but Lux couldn’t put her finger on it. Until it hit her smack in the face. Could she be one of our missing teammates? Lux quickly hurried to the grounds to find Poppy, who had joined up with Amy, Sarah, and a few others for lunch. Lux immediately knew that pulling Poppy away would be very suspicious and look odd, so Lux just sat down and quickly found the topic of conversation on their new student.

 

           “So Lux, what’s your opinion? I mean she’s just so spacy.” Amy said, and she pointed behind Lux, who turned to see Lulu eating under a tree. She however, didn’t seem put out. Quite the contrary however as she seemed quite happy.

 

           “Shouldn’t at least someone say hi?” Lux asked. Immediately everyone rolled their eyes. Lux always tried to make people feel welcome and she immediately stood up. As Lux got close, it was now clear what was in Lulu’s bag. Much like Dorcha and Solas, Lulu had a friend. Lux paused as she approached, but took a deep breath and continued.

 

           “Hi.” Not knowing what else to break the ice with, Lux just started basic, and Lulu looked up from her lunch.

 

           “Hi.” She replied and that was enough for Lux.

 

           “I’m Lux and well I just wanted to see if you were ok sitting by yourself?” Lux let the question hang, and Lulu paused for a few seconds before responding.

 

           “Lulu. I’m fine though. I enjoy it. Allows me to think and relax.” Lulu said, with a really upbeat voice. “Oh this is Pix. Please don’t tell anyone. I’m not sure about whether pets are allowed or not.” Lulu asked as she showed off her companion, who looked like a small cat with a long tail, bright white fur, wings, and holding onto a golden ball. “Just don’t take the ball. Pix doesn’t like it when he’s not holding it.” Lulu added after Lux took a second to give a scratch to the small creature. It squeaked, but inclined his head in Lux’s direction clearly indicating he liked it.

 

           “They don’t have an issue with pets, mostly. Just make sure they aren’t disruptive. So I think you will be fine. You are welcome to join us if you want.” Lux said as she indicated her friends, who for their part at least tried to look welcoming.

 

           “I’m good but thanks. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.” Lux paused for a moment before going back and after sitting down, she was convinced there was something odd about their new student.

 

           “So?” Poppy prodded.

 

           “Well there is something off about her, but she seems ok.” Lux glanced at Poppy and gave a careful wink, and Poppy nodded in reply, knowing that there was something else Lux wasn’t saying. “I think she’s just in her own world.” Lux finished and that seemed to be enough for everyone else as the topic quickly switched.

 

           When lunch was over, Poppy hung back with Lux, who had prodded Dorcha and Solas out of her bag. “Keep an eye on her.” Lux said to the pair, who quickly went about their business. Lux and Poppy headed inside before they were missed and Lulu was the last to enter just before Ms. Teller.

 

           “Ok class now get out your books and we will start with math.” She turned to the board as the entire class groaned. Lux took a glance at Poppy and Lulu, and it was clear that Poppy was watching her too. Lulu however, was in her own world. Clearly not paying attention, and yet somehow she was. It seemed that no one else noticed however as the math lecture was putting everyone to sleep.

 

           Once school was out, Lux and Poppy headed to the tower, but were both distracted by Lulu who was just occupying herself in the park with Pix. “She really is in her own world isn’t she?” Poppy asked as they both just looked.

 

           “My guess, she’s used to being alone so that’s how she copes. But I also get a sense there is something else to it. I can’t describe it, but there is something else.” Lux said as she nudged Poppy in the fact they needed to get going. Once they were at the tower, they found Janna already waiting.

 

           “What kept you two?” Janna asked but then she noticed something. “Wait, where are Dorcha and Solas?”

 

           “They are watching over this new girl that just transferred in. She is…strange.” Poppy said as she sat down next to Janna at the table while Lux leaned against the counter, almost slipping in the process, but catching herself.

 

           ‘What do you mean strange?” Janna asked now curious.

 

           “There’s something off about her. It’s hard to put into words but there is something about her that is either good or bad. I’m hoping good.” Lux said as she nodded towards the globe again. The amount of yellow, orange, and red there wasn’t very inviting and the more they looked at it, the more they looked back on their own failure a few days ago. It seemed so strange that it was such a short time.

 

           The tension in the room was broken by Vel’Koz entering and immediately noticing they were still not over what happened, he turned to the three of them. “Can you three get over it? It happened and we are working as quickly as possible on the solution. Remember that we were all there, and it still wasn’t enough. Until you have your full team, you are all still vulnerable. Now, I understand that we may be adding to it?” His voice relaxed at the end and Lux just nodded.

 

           “A new girl who transferred in today. There is definitely something off about her. But i can’t say if it is good or bad. I’m hoping good, but you never know can you?” Lux asked as she picked her head up.

 

           “Indeed. I’m assuming this is where Dorcha and Solas are?” Vel’Koz asked in reply.

 

           “Yeah Lux had them watch this girl for anything. I’m sure one of them will report in at some point. However, do we have any idea why another attack hasn’t happened yet? I mean Rek’Sai was beaten up badly during that last fight.” Poppy said, the confidence in her voice growing as she finished.

 

           “Indeed she was, I doubt we will be seeing her again any time soon, but I doubt Malzahar will let it rest there. What he will be trying for is another matter. We will have to be patient. I’m sure that whoever he picks we will know soon enough.” Vel’Koz said as he turned to see Lux pulling her locket.

 

           “In the meantime, how about some training girls?” Janna and Poppy pulled their pendants and followed Lux upstairs. Vel’Koz stayed around only to hear crashing and clearly focused noises from the second floor. He allowed himself a chuckle and headed back to his office.

 

           As the day passed to evening, the Guardians came back down and they parted ways as they headed home, exhausted from training but still feeling good. They spent the evening doing homework and actually being normal for a time. However, they all knew they were living like this on borrowed time.

* * *

            On Runeterra’s moon, Kog’Maw carefully studied a map of the city, or at least as much as he could while he was eating nonstop. Kog’Maw was always the first to rush into action but for some reason he was being careful this time.

 

           “If you don’t do something soon, I’m going to lose a bet here.” Cho’Gath said as he entered the room, to find Kog’Maw pouring over a map marked in his own way. “Um, do I want to know?”

 

           “Not really. However, I’ve had too many injuries for the time being, so I’m being careful.” Kog’Maw said to his much taller superior.

 

           “And you still can make a mess.” Cho’Gath took one look around and shook his head.

 

           “I eat. It isn’t my fault this is how things turned out. I’m always hungry. Find a way to fix that why don’t you. In the meantime…” Cho’Gath turned to see a plate coming Kog’Maw’s way and sighed.

 

           “I’ll inform Malzahar that you won’t be moving forward any time soon.” Cho’Gath smiled as he was almost out the door before Kog’Maw responded.

 

           “I’m almost ready. I had to learn the location of Malzahar’s scepter didn’t I?” Kog’Maw fired off. Cho’Gath paused and then nodded, turning back around.

 

           “So where is it?” Cho’Gath asked, returning to the map.

 

           “Here. At that traitor’s place. He also has it surrounded by enchantments and security devices. All of that is going to take time to defeat. So how about I don’t make the Prophet angry and actually deliver something on the first try?” Kog’Maw sounded pleased with himself, and even Cho’Gath couldn’t deny his planning. He still knew something was going to go wrong, but he couldn’t pin it down on anything specific. One thing Cho’Gath knew is that the game was about to change, and it wasn’t for the better for either side.

 

           “So what is your plan then?” Cho’Gath asked as he looked over Kog’Maw’s planning.

 

           “I plan to launch an attack here towards the city center so draw the guardians away and then attack the place trying to defeat the security devices before they can respond. I plan to make it look like we are looking to harvest a vast amount of energy so that will draw their attention. I only plan to launch three attacks. Just enough to keep them distracted.” Kog’Maw seemed very impressed with himself and Cho’Gath nodded in reply.

 

           “It is a sound plan, just be warned, they are on to a lot of our tricks. Be careful you don’t ruin your plan before it begins.” And with that Cho’Gath walked out leaving Kog’Maw to his planning. He decided to wait until the next day to enact his plans however and just continued to munch on the things he was brought.

* * *

            As day passed into evening, Lux, Janna, and Poppy knew that an attack could be launched at any time, but as the evening wore on, it was clear that nothing would be happening. Lux looked up to see Dorcha taking a nap on her desk while she worked on homework as Solas was still watching their new student and trying to keep things up to date on her. Lux was trying to stay up until he got back, but she could feel the waves of tiredness wash over her and finally giving up, she changed and got into bed as Dorcha hopped from the desk to join her.

 

           Poppy likewise went to bed earlier than usual because she knew that it was only a matter of time until there was another attack, and probably by someone new. As she closed her door for the night, Poppy took one last look outside at the moon, took a deep breath, nodded, and headed to bed.

 

           Janna however, was not one to sleep easily. She stayed up later than her teammates, both with homework and playing games trying to tire herself out. Eventually she did and finally crashed into bed, with Zephyr alongside.

 

           The following morning was all they needed to tell them that today was the day. All three woke up chilly and given the temperature outside, it was unlikely the weather. Lux as usual didn’t want to get out of bed, especially since she was now cold, and still tired. “Oh get up sleepyhead.” Dorcha said after Lux refused to move for 10 minutes. “You know you will be late.”

 

           Lux finally got herself out of bed and after changing, headed downstairs to eat something before she dragged herself to school. As she walked to school, Lux kept her attention focused around her as she knew an attack was going to happen, but she had no idea when. Lux knew as she finally walked up the steps, she would was going to have a bad day, and when Ms. Teller announced a pop quiz, Lux thought to herself ‘Well already off to a great start’. And she let her head hit her desk in protest, but all that accomplished was an annoying headache. Poppy snickered from her seat.

 

           Janna was more awake than Lux, but still a bit tired. Like her teammates, she was keeping an eye out for trouble, but she was also dealing with the fact it was likely to be another day at school. At least she had the advantage of moving around a bit more than her teammates, so it was easier for her to stay awake. As lunch approached, Janna sent a text to Lux and Poppy asking to meet them in the field near their schools to eat.

 

           ‘Sure. I don’t think you will get a response from Lux though. She’s zoned out.’ Poppy replied and Janna just rolled her eyes as she put her phone away. Janna however also started zoning out as she looked out the window at the nice day and knew that sooner or later, there would be chaos.

 

           As lunch started, the students flooded out of the school and Lux and Poppy met up with Janna. “So boring day isn’t it?” Lux said as she sat down and probably put her head down, but more gently.

 

           “Yeah. I’m still not sure what’s worse, the fight or the wait?” Janna said as she pulled out her lunch, and slipped Zephyr a snack. Lux did the same with Dorcha and Solas as he came over for a brief snack while taking a brief break from keeping an eye on Lulu. They all ate and talked about a lot of things, but mostly the lack of an attack and how when an attack will come, it would probably be bad. The rest of the lunch period came and went quickly and before they all knew it, they were heading back inside.

 

           As the afternoon began, Lux continued to zone out in class but somehow was paying attention enough to answer a question here and there as Ms. Teller attempted to catch her out on it. Poppy just rolled her eyes at Lux somehow managing to answer them all. Poppy then turned to Amy, who was barely controlling her laughter after the 4th time this happened. Poppy could only surmise that Lux did this frequently. Poppy kept an eye on Lulu for most of the afternoon, and she was definitely in her own world. Lulu was still answering questions, but every other time, she was just out of it.

 

           Janna however, was enjoying her afternoon as she found a test canceled due to high performance, and then the class got a surprise by watching a movie. Janna did notice something out of the corner of her eye however in a student that wasn’t often in class, but was there today. Everyone knew she was intelligent, but more often than not, she just didn’t care and picked the easy route.

 

           As the schools got out, the team headed to the tower to try and figure out the lack of an attack. As they entered, they found Vel’Koz once again hovering over the globe, showing the barriers, and their massive damage. They all paused for a second, knowing what that meant, but when Vel’Koz looked up, he did his smile.

 

           “How was school you three?” He asked, as his voice was much more upbeat, taking the three of them by surprise.

 

           “Not bad. Test canceled, and then watching a movie. So I enjoyed it.” Janna said, dodging the elbows from Lux and Poppy and sliding gracefully into a chair.

 

           “This lack of an attack is driving me crazy. I can’t focus.” Lux said as she walked over to the counter and sat on one of the stools.

 

           “But that didn’t stop you from answering questions correctly more than a few times. By the way, that Lulu was in her own world most of the afternoon. She was just drawing on that paper she had in front of her. I managed to get an image, hang on let me pull it up.” Poppy immediately started searching through her phone.

 

           “Well it seems that maybe things won’t turn out as expected. However, I do have good news. Progress is being made and hopefully in a few weeks, we will have the tools necessary to finally do a full replace on the barriers. We have worked out a new system were things are more overlapping, and while the void can still get in, they will have a much harder time of it. We can’t completely block in the planet, but we can made it as difficult as possible.” Vel’Koz said, and as he looked between the team, they were all smiling too, even Poppy who was still going through her phone.

 

           “Well that’s good news. Now all we have to do is find our two other teammembers before then. Hopefully that won’t be much of a challenge. Maybe sooner…” Lux started but was cut off by Poppy.

 

           “Found it. Here take a look.” Poppy passed the phone to Lux and Janna, who both just looked at it, and had confused looks on their faces.

 

           “I don’t know. It looks like a staff of some kind.” Lux said as she looked closer.

 

           “I think a scepter is more accurate. Looks like something a mage of old would have used before all the ban on those powerful magics. Vel’Koz? Vel something wrong?” Janna asked, now looking a bit panicked as Lux and Poppy also turned to Vel’Koz, who was actually on the floor and was a bit purple. He recovered enough to hover over.

 

           “Let me see that.” Poppy handed over her phone and Vel’Koz looked very carefully at it, and turned even more purple. Now the team was scared, and Lux pulled her locket while Poppy already had her pendent in her hand.

 

           “Vel talk to us.” Lux implored as she used the shorted form of Vel’Koz’s name, which he didn’t mind, but he preferred his full name.

 

           “You three had better transform and follow me. Grab the cloaks.” Vel’Koz seemed to recover a bit and he floated out while the team just looked at each other.

 

           “Well this can’t be good.” Poppy said as she put her phone back in her bag as Janna pulled her pendent.

 

           “Ready?” Lux said turning to the other two. They both nodded.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” As they touched back down, they looked at each other and nodded. They grabbed the cloaks and followed where Vel’Koz had left. Vel’Koz lead them through the upper parts of the museum until they reached an upper catwalk over a large room. It was hard to keep from making too much noise from their boots as they followed Vel’Koz out.

 

           “Whatever Lulu drew, and I have no idea how, she drew that.” Vel’Koz pointed at a scepter in the middle of the room. The team got a look but when they turned to Vel’Koz with puzzled faces, he caught and slapped himself.

 

           “As you know, most mages focus their powers through something, and in this case, that was Malzahar’s staff before the void corrupted him.” Now it was the Guardian’s turn to go white.

 

           “Well this can’t be good.” Lux said but then noticed something. Something with purple hair. “You can’t mistake that.” Lux pointed at Lulu who was just walking around the exhibit and looking around, occasionally looking at the scepter, but browsing around. The four of them watched for a few minutes, before Lulu disappeared into the Star Guardian exhibit next door, which had been updated.

 

           “I’ll keep an eye on her, but I have a feeling that something is going to happen.” No sooner than Vel’Koz had finished his statement, then a sudden rush of cold fell over the team. They knew that time was up. “Go!” The team threw off the cloaks and dashed for the roof. Once they got there, they knew that something was up. There were clearly three different attacks going on, and now they need to split up.

 

           “I’ll deal with the park. Janna head to the train station. Poppy head downtown.” Lux said as she gripped her baton tighter and they both nodded and took off. Lux tore off towards the park close to their schools and saw just a horde of Zzs and an energy collector, which seemed to be working overtime. Lux immediately threw out a binding, but it was blocked by the Zzs and they quickly turned to overwhelm her. Lux threw a singularity to stop them, but still did have to roll out of the way as she threw a few bolts from her baton to cover.

 

           “Who gave all of you an intelligence upgrade?” Lux asked no one in particular as she dodged again as the Zzs were being careful to keep her away from the collector, orbs, and the portal. Lux carefully kept moving around until she could get a clear shot, but it was always blocked by something.

 

           “Well if you aren’t going to give me a clear shot, then I’ll just have to take you all out.” Lux immediately turned on the smaller horde pursuing her, threw out a binding and a singularity, detonating it in the middle of them, sending more than half to the evaporation chamber. Lux switched up and threw more bolts at the Zzs, destroying more, but they seemed to be endless. Lux then turned to the portal and while she couldn’t get the orbs, collector, and portal in one shot, she knew she could get one of them.

 

           “Ok then. Try this.” Lux summoned her powers, threw another singularity to slow down the Zzs, then charged up. “Final Spark!” Lux threw her powers and hit not only a small crowd of Zzs, but also made the portal disappear. Lux didn’t have time to think as she turned to dodge more Zzs coming right at her. “Well this isn’t good.” Lux detonated the singularity she threw out earlier and threw another binding to try and keep the horde back.

 

           Dodging again, Lux could at least now see the damage coming out as she saw the horde thinning. However, she missed a few that were flanking her until almost too late. Throwing up a barrier, Lux threw a singularity on top of herself and detonated it, resulting in a real amount of Zzs going down. “Now to deal with the rest of you.” Lux said as she stood up for the first time in the fight, and threw out more bolts from her baton as the Zz horde thinned even further.

* * *

           Arriving at the train station, Janna saw a small horde of Zzs and a few other things which she could only assume were Malzahar’s personal voidlings. Janna, without help from Poppy and Lux, would have her hands full, but still she charged up a twister, and once it reached its full power, she let it fly at the Zz horde, and destroyed quite a number of them. Janna then gripped her staff and threw a few bolts from it to destroy the Zzs and she shielded herself from the damage from them when they turned to meet her.

 

           Janna threw another twister, but knew that she couldn’t keep this up before long. Seeing another horde approach from the other side, Janna threw a barrier around herself, but then a large pulse connected with the horde, dealing a lot of damage and destroying a lot of them. Janna turned to see Debonair, with some new armor and nodded as he turned his weapon towards the rest of them and quickly accelerated his shots and took out the rest of them.

 

           Janna threw a shield on Debonair as the Zzs and voidlings turned on him and he just knocked them around with his hammer, and then shot at the ones still far away. Janna kept up moving around, throwing twisters, hitting some of the Zzs with bolts, and shielding Debonair as he kept moving around as well. Janna wasn’t about to ignore the help, but it seems like it was all too convenient for him to show up when he did. Just then, one of the voidlines jumped right at Debonair, he swung, and it went flying into a tree, evaporating a moment later. ‘I think too much sometimes’ Janna said to herself as she went back into the fight.

 

           The fight was more chaotic than either of them would have liked because of the large amount of innocents around, and that made lining up their shots harder. Thankfully just a few minutes later, Janna turned to see the unmistakable lights of police cruisers and Caitlyn stepping out of one, taking a shot, then ordering everyone to help evacuate civilians and set up a perimeter. Janna and Debonair kept trying to get an angle on the collector, but Zzs and voidlings kept getting in the way.

 

           “We have to hit that portal.” Debonair said as he blasted yet more Zzs and Janna turned to see he was right. Janna took a careful look around the battlefield and then noticed how the Zzs were moving, she quickly positioned herself between Debonair and the portal.

 

           “Take the shot!” She yelled as she threw a twister at an approaching horde. Debonair just looked dumbstruck.

 

           “Are you crazy? I’ll hit you!” He said, as he sent another shot towards more.

 

           “Trust me!” Janna yelled back as she turned to him again. Debonair looked and nodded. He threw out his acceleration gate, charged up a pulse and shot it directly at Janna. At the last second, Janna flung herself into the ground and the pulse passed right over her and smashed directly into the portal, destroying it. “Now let’s clean up.” Debonair just nodded as one of the Zzs few towards him, only to get a pulse to the face. The two began quickly mobbing up what remained behind, which was still a big number.

 

           “I have always hated cleaning up.” Debonair said but Janna didn’t have time to even chuckle as another Zz flew right at her. She ducked, and Debonair sent it flying with his hammer.

* * *

            Once Poppy hit the heart of downtown, it wasn’t hard to find the source of the problem. In one of the central parks, it seems that some Zzs decided to crash a local picnic, or a couple. Police were already on scene evacuating innocents, and once Poppy saw the portal, she knew where she had to get to, but it wouldn’t be easy. “Well here goes nothing.” Poppy shouldered her hammer, and charged right into the fight.

 

           Just charging down the hill Poppy managed to destroy more than a fair share of Zzs who quickly turned their attention to her, but that is exactly what Poppy wanted. Smiling, she again charged straight into the fight, and made liberal use of her hammer in swigging at Zzs and destroying them. Poppy kept throwing her buckler around, and shielding herself, since neither Lux or Janna were present to assist with that. Poppy kept driving the Zzs back towards the portal and away from everyone trying to evacuate.

 

           Still, it was hard to get to the portal and Poppy knew that until she did, every Zz she destroyed, another would take its place. After taking out another group, she noticed how they were moving. Keeping a large group between her and the portal, but also chasing her. Poppy couldn’t stop to think about how to take advantage of that yet, as she just had to keep moving and keep herself from getting swarmed. Taking out more large groups with her buckler and hammer, Poppy kept up her movement, until she saw an opportunity.

 

           Poppy quickly raised her hammer above her head, and began spinning it. Once it was ready, Poppy brought it down, hard. She managed to clear a way to the portal and again charged. At the last second, however, Poppy was hit by a large Zz knocking her off course. Well mostly. Instead of hitting the portal, the Zz’s impact changed her trajectory so instead she hit the collector, destroying it. “Well not the result I wanted, but I’ll take it. Now which one of you hit me?” Poppy said and turned to a decently sized Zz at her feet, who quickly started scampering away. “Oh no you don’t. You don’t get away with that.” Poppy brought her hammer down on the Zz, destroying it.

 

           She then looked up to see the horde which was starting to retreat, and she smiled. Poppy quickly got moving again and charged the portal, and this time she connected, destroying it. “Well now just to clean up the rest of you.” Poppy said as she charged again, this time, it was the Zzs running from her.

* * *

            Back at the museum, Vel’Koz was keeping a close watch on Lulu from the catwalk above the exhibit and she kept moving around with that curious creature following her. Vel’Koz could sense it now, there was something, but he still couldn’t put his finger on it. He noticed Solas keeping a close eye with Dorcha keeping an eye from another angle. Vel’Koz heard one of the catwalk doors open, and he turned to see Nasus who nodded. That meant that the library and museum were evacuated and it was then Vel’Koz saw him.

 

           Kog’Maw barreled through a door and headed into the middle of the exhibit. Lulu, who hadn’t seen the voidling, literally ran right into him. Now clearly scared, Lulu backed off quickly, but not before pulling a staff from somewhere, and walloping Kog’Maw right in the head. The void eating machine stood there stunned for a second while Lulu took cover behind an exhibit. Vel’Koz just hovered there for a second while Lulu kept out of sight and, finally recovering, he tore off down to protect the scepter. Kog looked around for the thing that hit it, but after a few seconds, decided that it had run. Walking into the chamber, he finally saw his prize.

 

           “There you are. Now how to get to you.” Kog’Maw said to no one in particular, and he opened up with acid from his mouth. Which didn’t do a whole lot of good as it just washed off. Vel’Koz laughed as he entered the room.

 

           “Still as stupid as ever aren’t we? That was a nice trick drawing the Guardians away, but you won’t get the scepter. Well not as long as I’m still around.” Vel’Koz said as he floated between Kog’Maw and the scepter.

 

           “Well then, maybe you don’t need to be around anymore.” Kog’Maw opened up with more acid, including a large ball he shot at the Wandering Eye, but Vel’Koz was able to avoid it easily. He threw a rupture of his own, and knocked Kog’Maw into the air, where he came back down, hard. Vel’Koz was careful to keep him from going after Lulu as well, at least until Dorcha and Solas could pull her to safety. Or at least that was the plan.

 

           “Stop moving! The longer you take, the more you make me mad.” Kog’Maw said as he again tried to hit Vel’Koz, who just threw a void rupture, and some plasma into Kog’Maw’s face. Vel’Koz was handling the young voidling well, but he knew that he couldn’t hold him off forever.

 

           “I can’t just sit here, I have to do something. Right Pix?” Lulu said to her companion quietly as it just nodded. Lulu then turned to see Dorcha and Solas sitting there. “Oh you two are cute, but you can’t be here it isn’t safe. Come on, let’s get out of here.” Lulu made to pick them up, but the two jumped back.

 

           “Lulu, what you say if you could help.” Solas said as Lulu just sat there, now interested in a talking poro.

 

           “Oh you can talk. That’s funny.” Lulu started to raise her voice, but Pix flew in front of her to calm her down. “But how can I, that thing is so powerful.”

 

           “Listen I know you are scared, same thing with the others, and if we had more time, we’d do this differently but we don’t.” Dorcha said trying to talk as fast as possible. It didn’t help that Lulu was just staring at them with her bright eyes, fully enthralled. “You know the story of the Star Guardians right?” Lulu just nodded. “Well their powers never left this planet after the last fight. They settled into 5 individuals. One of them is you. If you want, you can help. We could transfer the powers, but we can’t. So it’s either you, or no one.” Vel’Koz roared from the next room, but so did Kog’Maw, it seems that they both hit each other hard.

 

           “What do you think Pix?” Lulu turned to her companion, who just nodded. “Ok then.” Dorcha conjured up the contract and it fell in front of Lulu.

 

           “You just need to sign this. It’s for a term of service until we can find a way to transfer the powers. We will try as quickly as possible.” Dorcha said as Lulu took a quick read, and then managed to flip through it rather quickly.

 

           “Sure.” Lulu signed her name and in the middle of the page, a pendant emerged. One shaped like a staff, but different from Janna’s. “Ok Pix, let’s do this.” Lulu laughed a bit but somehow with Dorcha and Solas telling her, she knew what to do.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Lulu gracefully touched back down and took a good look at herself. Like Lux and Poppy, her hair had changed color, from purple to a bright green. She also had boots that came up to her mid shin, white gloves that came just over her elbows. However, that is where the similarities stopped. Unlike Lux and Janna, Lulu was wearing more of a coat, that split at her waist, showing her green skirt, and fanning out behind her like coattails. The bow on her chest, like her hair, was a bright green and her tiara rested just above her ears, keeping her hair back. Her staff was also a bright gold, ending in a heart shaped top with a bow where the top and staff connected. In the middle of the staff, was a star. “Well this is cool. Oh wait.” Lulu charged straight into the next room.

 

           Vel’Koz threw more plasma at Kog’Maw, missing, but just as Kog’Maw threw more acid Vel’Koz’s way, Vel’Koz found himself in a shield. Turning around, he saw Lulu, now fully transformed, and hovering above him was Pix. ‘Well it seems Lux was right.’ Vel’Koz threw some basic plasma at Kog’Maw and he noticed that while they connected something else did as well. Pix had fired some stars from his ball, that timed with his attacks. Pix then flew back to Lulu, who shot a sort of lance at Kog’Maw, but full of glitter.

 

           Kog’Maw, clearly not expecting another Star Guardian, paused for a second, only to take the glitterlance full in the face. He roared, and charged at Lulu, who quickly dodged out of the way, and then Kog’Maw quickly found himself to be a small animal. Lulu ran over to Vel’Koz while Kog’Maw was trying to figure out how to get himself unstuck. “You might want to get the others.” Lulu said as Vel’Koz just hovered there, astonished.

 

           “I think you are right. Look out.” Lulu turned to see Kog’Maw had transformed back, but Lulu just called on Pix again.

 

           “Help Pix!” Lulu found herself and her companion shielded by the shield that the creature put out. Kog’Maw clearly wasn’t happy and fired off more acid, but Lulu only polymorphed him again, and dodged out of the way. Nasus, who was watching from the catwalk, having already contacted the Guardians, was laughing his head off at the funny sequence of the fight. But Lulu’s luck ran out as finally Kog’Maw transformed back and hit Lulu in the arm.

 

           “Ouch. That hurt.” Lulu said, almost like it was nothing, but the red spot on her skin was nothing to laugh at.

 

           “Good! Now I am to make it hurt more.” Lulu again dodged around, using her abilities to stay ahead of Kog’Maw or turn in back into a small animal. Kog’Maw eventually figured out her strategy and fired off a blob of acid ahead of her, but Lulu just turned and fired another lance right into his face. Kog’Maw started hopping around in anger as Lulu fired a few small bolts from her staff, with Pix helping, and Kog’Maw just flew into a rage. Lulu quickly took off and made some graceful movements around to dodge the barrage of acid Kog’Maw was shooting out. Finally taking cover, Lulu saw one blob about to land on top of her, and knew Pix wouldn’t be enough.

 

           However, all that happened was the acid just bounced off. Lulu turned to see Janna in the door way, with Poppy and Lux charging into the room from the other side. Lulu smiled and immediately threw Pix to Lux as she threw a few bolts at Kog’Maw, who was now really outnumbered and outgunned. The void creature tried to avoid the barrage of spells from Lux, only to be slammed by Poppy into a wall. Janna saw Lulu’s wound, and made to cast her monsoon, but Lulu just shook her head. “It only hurts a little bit. Save it.” Janna just looked shocked, but nodded.

 

           “Not good!” Lux said as Kog’Maw immediately unleashed a barrage of acid her way. Lux, Janna, and Lulu all threw shields around Lux, but it started breaking fast. Lulu then focused her powers.

 

           “Up you go!” Suddenly Lux was twice her normal size, and Kog’Maw just stopped and let out a sound like a scared puppy. Poppy couldn’t help herself and immediately started laughing. Nasus and Vel’Koz were bent double on the catwalk laughing and they couldn’t be stopped. “Get him!” Lulu said at Lux who quickly threw a singularity Kog’Maw’s way. When it detonated, it was clear that it was more powerful as he not only let out a roar of pain, but he looked very physically hurt.

 

           Thinking quickly, Lux threw a binding, then focused her powers. Jumping into the air, Lux let her powers fly. “Final Spark!” However, it didn’t connect. A portal opened just below Kog’Maw as Lux leaped into the air and he vanished back to the void. “Well that stinks.” Lux said as she landed and shrunk back to her normal size. She then turned to their newest teammate. “Welcome to the team.” Lux offered her hand, which Lulu took.

 

           “Thanks. I’ll try to be as little absent minded as possible.” Lulu said and they all broke into laughter again. Nasus was now out of breath and hyperventilating as Vel’Koz dragged him back to his office to relax.

 

           “Power Down” and the four Guardians transformed back to their normal selves. Lulu grabbed Pix and held him close. Janna noticed the burn still on Lulu’s arm. Lulu then noticed it herself. She quickly put her other hand over it, and it disappeared.

 

           “I get hurt a lot walking through the woods. Some spirt taught me that to keep from running back every time I got hurt. It was very nice. Too bad it was hurt by that evil spirit.” Lulu said as they all looked shocked. “Oh don’t worry, it can’t be used for larger things.” Lux just smiled.

 

           “Come on, let’s see what Vel’Koz has for us, if he’s calmed down.” Lux said.

 

           “If Nasus has calmed down you mean.” Poppy said and Janna just nodded. They showed Lulu one of the entrances to the tower, and once there, gave her the pen they all used from time to time, and she went upstairs to pick out her room. Once she had come back down, Vel’Koz had joined them, and he turned immediately to Lulu.

 

           “How did you see what was happening?” He asked.

 

           “I don’t know. I just saw it and I had to draw it. I found that helps me remember things. I guess I’ll pass along my drawings then. I’ll just have to get them from home. I have more.” Lulu then sank into a chair and began just drawing circles with her finger on the table, while still listening and looking at Vel’Koz.

 

           “Well let’s hope you can do that a bit more in the future. It would be nice to have a leg up on my former associates for once. As for you three, you all did good. I hear the damage was minimal?” Vel’Koz asked turning to the others.

 

           “Mostly. Just people zapped as normal. They must be trying to rebuild their energy supply.” Poppy said as she sat down opposite of Lulu, who was now focused on Pix. Poppy was a bit annoyed, but she seemed to be paying attention nevertheless.

 

           “Well, just one more to go. Hopefully we won’t have to wait long. Until then, Lulu” Lulu looked up from Pix, “we’ll just have to do a bit of training to figure out our new strategy.” Lulu just nodded in reply. “Still welcome to the team.”

 

           “It will be nice to have friends for once. My parents move around so much that I can’t make them because sooner or later they are gone. My mom is making him stay this time.” Lulu said as she got up and gave Lux a hug. Lux bent down to return it as Janna and Poppy just nodded.

 

           “Well at least she’s interesting.” Poppy whispered to Janna, only to have Pix nock the back of her head. Poppy just rolled her eyes as Pix was clearly laughing and Poppy let him land in her hand as she gave him a quick scratch behind the ears.

* * *

          "To say this is an unfortunate turn of events is an understatement. The guardians now have four of their five teammates, and given their makeup, I doubt their most powerful teammember is present. We now have to divide our focus. We must locate the last teammeber, and we must also continue to acquire the artifacts. Kog’Maw, you must plan for both and failure to do so could result in a disaster for us.” Malzahar was hovering back and forth in his throne room as he looked at the clearly scared voidling before him.

 

           “Oh great Prophet, with four, it would be hard enough to focus on one target let alone two. Not to mention the guardians have ways of detecting their teammembers. If we are to ensure victory, we should just focus on retrieving the artifacts.” Cho’Gath spoke up as he saw Kog’Maw wasn’t going to do so. Normally Cho’Gath would have agreed with Malzahar in this instance, but given their large expenditure of energy lately, doing so would be a disaster. Malzahar stopped pacing and turned to Cho’Gath. The two stared each other down, but it was Malzahar who relented.

 

           “You are correct Cho’Gath. Given the large amount of energy we just expended, and I’m sure that traitor is trying to come up with a new barrier design, our focus must be single.” Malzahar gave a quick nod to the giant void creature, and Cho’Gath returned it. As Cho’Gath and Kog’Maw left the throne room, Malzahar turned to the planet below as he looked out the giant windows and sighed, then laughed.

 

           “Continue with your mission Kog’Maw, but if you can, keep an eye out for the fifth. Don’t prioritize it, just if you are able. We do need those artifacts and any energy you manage to collect along the way. I would make another run at the scepter.” Cho’Gath said to the much smaller creature.

 

           “I will, but first…” Kog’Maw ran off towards a large plate of food and Cho’Gath just shook his head.

 

           “If he focused just half as much on his objectives as he did eating, this might be over.” Malzahar said as he came up alongside Cho’Gath. Cho’Gath jumped a bit but recovered quickly.

 

           “I agree, however his plan was well executed and planned. However, I doubt he will be as careful in the future.” Cho’Gath responded as he and Malzahar left to let Kog’Maw eat.

 

           “I agree. Keep an eye on him. I barely managed to pull him out of that building, and we had to burn a lot of energy for that. If he is going to go after it again, then we must be careful.” Malzahar turned off as Cho’Gath just stood there. This time there was no arguing with him. While Cho’Gath could probably come out on top in a one vs. one fight, he knew that Malzahar had unlimited power and he had the influence that he never did. After all, if Cho’Gath could lead, then he would have done so, but they needed someone else, and they got exactly what they needed.

 

           “I just wish he would be more careful with strategy.” Cho’Gath mumbled to himself as he entered his room.

* * *

            Back on Runeterra, Lux looked out at the moon from her bedroom and smiled. “Just one more and we can finally take anything they can throw at us.” Lux turned to Dorcha and Solas and they both nodded.

 

           “Indeed. Now hopefully we can just find them before things get crazy.” Dorcha said.

 

           “Yeah. Hopefully soon. Whatever that was that you fought today is new and probably a new strategy would follow. We just need to figure out what is Malzahar’s plan.” Solas said as he paced back and forth. “I mean going to Malzahar’s scepter at this stage could mean so many things.”  


           “How about we just sleep on it.” Lux said as she flopped into bed and closed her eyes. “Let’s just focus on that tomorrow. For now, we got off easy and let’s let that be that.” Lux turned over as both Dorcha and Solas just nodded.

 

           In her room, Lulu turned from Pix to look at the moon and she just stared out the window at the woods behind her third new house in a year. “Let’s hope this time Pix it will be different. I’m tired of moving.” Lulu just scratched her companion as he nodded, well as best he could while getting scratched behind the ears. Lulu was about to get into bed, when she stopped, grabbed another sheet of paper and drew for a solid 20 minutes. When she stopped she looked at what she drew and smiled. It was a quick drawing of the tower at the museum. Lulu smiled and finally went to bed after a long day.


	24. Scepter Scramble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the addition of their fourth teammate, the Guardians grow stronger still. However, they must tread carefully as Malzahar’s true plan remains hidden from them, for now. Kog’Maw may be young, but is full of enthusiasm for carrying out Malzahar’s wishes. How long can Malzahar keep his plan a secret this time and will Kog’Maw actually get the scepter this time?

           “Go Pix!” Lulu said as Poppy charged in and landed several blows against the dummies while Lux and Janna focused more keeping the same dummies under control. Nasus was watching, but even he couldn’t ignore the fact Lulu kept drifting in and out of focus. Poppy circled around for another attack, and when she went in again, Pix wasn’t present. Poppy stopped and turned to see Lulu, who was again looking out the window.

 

           “Lulu!?” Poppy yelled as she stopped in place again. Lulu snapped out of her trance and sent Pix in, but the rhythm was broken and Poppy just walked off and headed downstairs. Lux and Janna took that as a sign practice was over. They turned to Lulu, who looked hurt, but there was something else, that Lux couldn’t put her finger on. When the others joined Poppy downstairs, she was still fuming.

 

           “Lulu you have to pay attention. I know it’s just practice, but we can’t afford to not practice. You are still new, and we don’t know how you fit in yet. So you have to keep up with us and…” Poppy just let her voice trail off as Lulu looked hurt, and Pix was floating behind her. Lux was about to say something when Janna put her hand on Lux’s shoulder and just shook her head. Lux stayed quiet, knowing that Poppy just needed to clear the air.

 

           Lulu looked from Poppy to the window and back again. She just sat down at the table and while she didn’t cry, she looked hurt. Poppy was still too annoyed to pay attention. Granted the last two days hadn’t gone as expected, but the first secession three days ago seemed fine. Lux got Poppy’s attention and pointed upstairs. Poppy was about to groan, but thought better of it. Janna hovered over to Lulu to make sure she was ok.

 

           Once they reached the third floor, Lux turned to Poppy. “I know she’s different, but we have to accept that. Clearly she’s got something else going on, but we have to adapt to that. Maybe we can’t go these marathon secessions anymore and take a few more breaks.” Lux kept her voice neutral, and while Poppy seemed to be ready to defend herself, she quickly backed down at Lux’s tone.

 

           “I know, but it’s just so frustrating. I mean she spaces out quickly and she doesn’t seem to want this.” As soon as those last words left Poppy’s mouth, she instantly regretted them. Even more so when she saw Lux’s face, who was clearly now angry.

 

           “You know that isn’t true. Lulu was given the choice already to walk away, but she stayed. Now, we will have to accept that for the moment and move on. I know it is frustrating, but again we’ll just have to adapt.” Lux ended the conversation there as she headed back downstairs where Janna and Lulu had already powered down and Lulu was again drawing. She seemed happier, as even Pix flew to Poppy once she followed Lux down and she gave him a scratch. Lux and Poppy powered down and Poppy carefully made her way over to the table, but only Janna turned to her, and she also gave a sour face. Poppy nodded and she looked at what Lulu was drawing and it was just random scribbles.

 

           Lux sighed and they all turned to go. It wasn’t a secret that Lulu was weird, but with Lux accepting her, everyone in the class warmed up to their new classmate. As they headed home, Lux ran into Amy and split off; Janna walked home with Poppy; Lulu broke off early and headed into a nearby park.

 

           “Pix, what’s wrong?” Lulu asked her companion, and he just let out a few squeaks. “Yeah I know, but I find it hard to focus at times. You know that.” Pix just squeaked some more and Lulu dropped her head. “I guess this time I really need to try don’t I?” Pix squeaked again. “Ok maybe just some of the time.” Pix squeaked and nuzzled up against Lulu. She smiled and knew for the first time, she had friends who wouldn’t run, and willing to stick by her. Even Poppy. Lulu smiled again and resumed her walk home.

 

           As Janna and Poppy rounded onto the street where Poppy lived, Janna finally said something. “Ok I’ve been keeping quiet but since you haven’t said anything, I will. You need to lay off Lulu. Remember when you came in, me and Lux were already in that mindset, but Lulu has been moving around for a lot of her life. She hasn’t had time to make friends, so she developed her own way of doing it. Just cut her some slack and you will find some common ground.” Janna was quite harsh, and while Poppy didn’t need a second talk down in such a short period of time, she still nodded.

 

           “I know, but it’s difficult. She just seems to absentminded that it makes me worry that if we get into a fight, she will just run off.” Poppy let her frustration out and while Janna could tell she wanted to say more, Poppy just stayed quiet. Janna just kept walking, and once they reached Poppy’s house, Janna just let her go inside without another word. Janna knew that pushing Poppy too hard would lead to more problems, but she also knew that this had to be settled. Even if it took time, getting it started now rather than later would also be a huge benefit.

 

           Poppy went straight to her room and she just flopped on her bed. She knew that she had been too harsh with Lulu, but she also reminded herself that once a fight did break out, it was not only hers, but everyone else’s life on the line. Poppy was never able to stand when people couldn’t focus on a task at hand, but with Lulu spacing out all the time, it was going to be difficult. ‘She was solid in the first fight, but will that repeat?’ Poppy thought to herself as she kept turning it all over in her head. Getting more frustrated, she just punched her pillow and just headed to her computer to vet some of the frustration she was carrying.

 

           When Lux got home, she was also frustrated. Knowing it would take everyone time to get used to Lulu, but unknown to either one of them, Lux shared some of the same concerns that Poppy had. They had to get used to Lulu but she also needed to do a better job focusing. Lux just put her head in her hands and sat at her computer, resulting in her putting her head on her desk.

 

           “Cheer up Lux, only one more to go. What’s wrong?” Dorcha said, jumping up onto the desk. Lux picked her head up to look at the black poro.

 

           “Just Poppy and Lulu. Well mostly Lulu. I can tell she eccentric, but she keeps wandering off or zoning out. It’s just hard to focus with that being a constant problem.” Lux replied, her voice not sounding any happier.

 

           “I mean she was solid in that first fight, so it proves she can stay focused.” Solas said, jumping into the conversation.

 

           “Still, that doesn’t mean that I can keep them all from fighting each other. I hoping to never have to scold someone like that again.” Lux knew that the second those words left her mouth, that there would be another time, and she just let her head hit her desk. “Ow!” Dorcha and Solas just rolled their eyes and chucked a bit.

* * *

 

           As Kog’Maw looked over the plan for the city, he carefully studied what he could of the traitor’s residence/workspace. Kog’Maw knew that one on one, he would lose, but if he could draw the guardians away again, since they didn’t seem to be aware of his plan yet, he might just have a chance.

 

           “Planning your next failure?” Came a hiss, and Kog’Maw turned to see Rek’Sai walking in.

 

           “So you’re out of the tank then?” Kog’Maw said, turning back to his plate of snacks. Rek’Sai just scowled.

 

           “For now. I still have much more healing to do. I just had three to deal with, and right now, your collection of energy means I’m done healing faster so here’s some advice. They are just one away from getting a full team, don’t let that happen, and if it does, never underestimate them.” Rek’Sai left with that, and limped out the same way she came in. Kog’Maw just ignored what she said and continued his planning. There would have to be a big distraction in order for him to get the scepter.

 

           “Kog’Maw how goes your planning?” Came another question. Kog’Maw looked up expecting to see Cho’Gath, but instead Malzahar was floating in. Quickly stepping away from his snacks, Kog’Maw stood up a little straighter.

 

           “Well enough Great Prophet. I am looking forward to the next engagement and making a second attempt at your scepter. I’m hoping they will see it not for the items, but for other reasons.” Kog’Maw spoke very quickly trying to not lose his nerve.

 

           “What other reasons would there be Kog’Maw?” Malzahar was testing him and Kog’Maw stopped and started to think. Malzahar almost wanted to get a shot of void energy as it looked painful.

 

           “Sentimental reasons Prophet.” Kog’Maw finally stated after a few minutes. Malzahar nodded in approval. After all a staff or scepter were some of the most prized possessions of a mage.

 

           “Good job, now we have to keep the guardians believing that. Watch yourself. What Rek’Sai said is true. Try to find the fifth guardian before they are found. And again, don’t underestimate the guardians. I have twice, and look what happened.” Malzahar indicated the scar on his head above his eyes and Kog’Maw just nodded. Malzahar then floated out and Kog’Maw turned back to his plans, and after eating a few snacks, realized that he needed more distractions.

* * *

            On Runeterra, Lux, Poppy, and Lulu were all annoyed with the teachers emphasizing exams for high school that were still a few months away. Lulu seemed to be paying attention in class, which Poppy noticed, but then she was also always either writing something or drawing something, yet somehow always answered a question. Even if she had to be called on twice. ‘Maybe that’s just the way she is.’ Poppy thought to herself as Lulu wasn’t wandering off, but did clearly space out at times. Pix knocking her in the side whenever this happened.

 

           As the final bell rang, the class headed outside and they all separated to walk home. Lulu went off towards a nearby park and Poppy followed at a distance. Lux who was looking for Poppy, likewise followed her at a distance. When Lulu found a decent tree, she settled down, pulled a notebook and continued drawing with Pix settling on her shoulder. Lulu still however seemed aware of the world as she managed to dodge a ball that flew at her.

 

           Lux just watched Poppy and smiled. Hopefully this would alleviate her frustration, but no sooner had Lux thought that, Poppy just stormed away. Lux just let out a sigh but she knew that it would just take some time. Hopefully not much time, but still it would be annoying until they reached an agreement. Lux also knew that she couldn’t interfere because if she did, then it might deteriorate further. Lux just sighed, and started to walk home.

 

           Unknown to both Lux and Poppy, Janna was watching as well, and after the two left, Janna walked over Lulu and sat down next to her. Lulu looked up from her drawing to look at Janna. “Hello!” Lulu’s enthusiasm wasn’t lost yet.

 

           “Lulu you know Poppy didn’t mean to get so angry right?” Janna asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

 

           “I know. She’s just angry. I know she doesn’t mean it.” Lulu replied, catching Janna off guard. “I have to say that I’m not helping, but I’m trying. It’s just different here. Very different. The flow of this place is so different.” Janna was not struggling to keep up. Underneath that crazy exterior, Lulu seemed more connected than any of them. Janna just smiled.

 

           “Just keep trying. Poppy will always respect that. Even if she doesn’t show it.” Janna said, her voice now reflecting her emotions of relief.

 

           “Oh I know.” Lulu just let her voice trail off as Janna stood up. “I’ll be there. Don’t worry about that.” Janna just smiled and headed home. Janna was tempted to tell Lux and Poppy, but they both had to see, especially Poppy. Lux, Janna reasoned, probably knew.

 

           As the day turned to night, the Guardians settled down for the evening. Lulu was in her backyard, just staring at the moon. She could feel the powerful presence there but she also felt another powerful presence. Lulu sprung to her feet, and headed indoors, grabbed a blue pencil, and began drawing. Only after her parents insisted, did she finally go to bed.

 

           In her room, Poppy also found herself looking up towards the moon. She knew that Malzahar was planning something big, but so were they. She expected someone like herself, Lux, or Janna when their new Guardian made her appearance. Not something like Lulu, who just drifted off and didn’t focus. Poppy didn’t know that Lulu was trying to change, but she also didn’t have the patience to wait for it. Or at least give her a chance to start.

 

           Lux looked out her window with Dorcha and Solas, just looking at the lights of the city in the distance. Reminded of how many people were depending on her and her team, Lux couldn’t imagine how her team could be split apart, especially over something that is just going to take time. Lux racked her brain trying to come up with a solution, but she couldn’t think of anything off the top of her head apart from patience. However, patience was in short supply right now. Deciding that she couldn’t think any more today, Lux just went to bed.

* * *

 

           That night Kog’Maw was confident in his plant to attack and gather as much energy as possible. He was ready, but knew attacking at night, while it might catch the guardians off guard and unprepared, it would also have issues because there wouldn’t be a lot of energy to collect without running around to get it. Deciding to wait until the morning, Kog’Maw settled on going to sleep instead.

 

           While the eating machine was sleeping, Cho’Gath wandered in to see Kog’Maw’s plan and report it back to Malzahar, and he was impressed, especially given the rushed nature of the attack. Still it wasn’t up to the standards of the others, but it was still a decent enough plan. Lots of chaos, but then chaos didn’t need much planning. Cho’Gath walked out as quietly as he entered.

 

           “Heading to bed?” Came a voice, and Cho’Gath turned to see Kha’Zix.

 

           “Yes. Only Vel’Koz managed to master never needing sleep. Why we didn’t get how he did it from him before we abandoned him is our loss.” Cho’Gath replied.

 

           “He betrayed us! Don’t forget that.” But no sooner than were the words out of Kha’Zix’s mouth, then he was in pain gripping his head.

 

           “Never forget that we did abandon him. We could have waited, but all we saw were planets waiting to be exploited. Energy to drain, and our lives freed from that infernal prison. Well yours anyway. Never forget that he had to adapt to survive, and he grew to like the planet, for whatever reasons. Never forget that Kha’Zix.” Malzahar had come up behind the two of them and punished Kha’Zix for forgetting the past. “Never forget the past.” Malzahar sneered as he let Kha’Zix go. He floated off while Cho’Gath and Kha’Zix stared after him.

 

           “He is right you know. Still I didn’t expect that. He’s not in a good mood.” Cho’Gath said as he turned back to Kha’Zix.

 

           “I could have told you that.” Kha’Zix walked off, still holding his head and headed to bed as well. “Now I see why across so many worlds, so many people use intoxicating elements.” He groaned as he entered his room. Cho’Gath chucked and likewise headed for his room.

* * *

 

           The following morning saw the team rise to a good morning but probably an annoying day as they all dragged themselves to school. Lux and Poppy almost slept through the morning, while Lux somehow managed to not get in trouble for letting her arm slip off her desk. After the third time, Amy was suppressing laughter, and Lux just flicked an eraser at her. Poppy just kept an eye on Lulu, who seemed to be a bit more focused but was still drawing something. Lux, able to see from the other side, could see Lulu’s notebook and she was taking notes, but Poppy couldn’t.

 

           Lux knew that sooner or later Lulu would prove herself, but Poppy wasn’t even giving her a chance, which was annoying her. As soon as the lunch began, Lux considered talking to Poppy, but thought better of it as Amy waved her over to join them. Lux just smiled and joined her friends. It was nice to have these moments every now and then since their lives now were anything but ordinary. It also reminded Lux who she was fighting for and she just let herself be absorbed in the conversation.

 

           Poppy however, wasn’t having a good day. She knew that Lux was probably right, but that still didn’t dismiss her concerns. She was still very nervous about Lulu and her commitment, and especially her focus. Poppy still couldn’t get over the fact that she just spaced out at random. What she also couldn’t get past was that Lulu could see the attack before it began, so she may have had some other skills.

 

           Something that was still bothering the whole team was when that new void creature would attack again. They were hoping that Vel’Koz would have some information about it later at the meeting, but until then, all of them would just have to suffer through school.

 

           As soon as school was over, the whole team went to the tower, with Lulu tagging along behind Lux and Poppy. For her part, Lulu didn’t get lost and followed all the way. Poppy did notice, but it didn’t alleviate her frustration. Once inside, they waited for Vel’Koz, who showed up a few minutes later.

 

           “So there is good news and bad news. Which do you want first?” He asked.

 

           “Start with the bad news.” Poppy said, her voice betraying her emotions a bit.

 

           “Ok I have no idea who you are fighting. I’ve never see that creature before.” The team was a bit taken aback given the looks on their faces. “However that is also good news. Since you don’t now, many of the creatures in the void are not sentient. They are very simple and perform basic tasks, almost machine like. Some, like those Zzs, have the intelligence of animals here on Runeterra. However, for something to get like that in the void, it has to be nurtured, and then fed. And fed a lot.”

 

           “Wouldn’t that mean he’s also not that intelligent?” Poppy asked.

 

           “Probably. I’m sure that that first attack he launched had a purpose and while it was effective, it also relied on overwhelming numbers. Now that demonstrates some thinking at least. Still, I would be cautious, but I also wouldn’t be too worried about complicated plans.” Vel’Koz finished and turned to leave.

 

           “Still never underestimate your enemy.” Lux reminded him. Vel’Koz turned and nodded, before leaving. Lux turned to the rest of her team. “Ok everyone. Let’s just keep an eye out today. With how things went, I’m sure Malzahar is looking for more energy, so high traffic areas. So I would suggest we all split up and just have a walk around the city until after rush hour. I think then we can rule out an attack until the following day. They all nodded and they all parted ways. Poppy was the last out as she wanted to watch Lulu more closely.

 

           The team split up, Lux headed towards downtown and the central parks; Janna headed towards the main train station; Poppy, once she stopped watching Lulu, headed towards some of the large parks near the stadium; Lulu headed towards the parks near their schools where a lot of kids tended to gather. As day turned to evening, it was clear that the void creature wouldn’t be attacking.

 

           ‘Anyone have anything?’ Lux texted to the rest of the team.

 

           ‘Nothing here. I’m heading home as the station is mostly clear.’ Janna sent back.

 

           ‘Most of the kids have headed home for dinner. Leaving as well.’ Lulu sent back. Lux had to wait a moment for Poppy.

 

           ‘Clear here as well. Either it isn’t coming, or he’s dumber than Vel’Koz thinks. Heading home as well.’ Lux paused for a moment as she examined the time between Lulu and Poppy and noticed that there was enough time for Poppy to read Lulu’s and then respond herself. Sighing, Lux also headed home.

 

           “Long day?” Garen asked Lux as she walked in the door.

 

           “You could say that. Just a lot of things on my mind right now.” Lux said as she headed upstairs.

 

           “Don’t get too comfortable. Mom says dinner in 20.” Lux just nodded from the stairs as she headed into her room. About 5 minutes later, Dorcha came hopping in.

 

           “I’m not comfortable with this you know.” She said with a touch of anger in her voice.

 

           “I know, but if we can’t get Poppy to calm down soon, then we could have more issues.” Lux told her. Dorcha just sighed.

 

           “Well Lulu did go to the park and for the most part, just sat under a tree drawing. However, she kept looking up and looking around from time to time. She did a good job of blending in. There was a point where I thought a void creature would emerge, and she already had her pendant in her hand, before everyone realized someone was bad at hide and seek. She stayed even when most of the parks were clear. Only once did she get your text did she leave.” Dorcha listed off her report, and after seeing Lux’s face, she relaxed a bit.

 

           “Thank you. She is different, but that can sometimes be good.” Lux said. There was a small noise and Solas came hopping in.

 

           “Your report. Poppy did do as she said, but was checking her phone every 5 minutes. After the message from Lulu, Poppy waited and sighed before she responded. From what I just heard, I see that Lulu did her job, but Poppy is growing frustrated. That’s why we were sent weren’t we?” Solas asked, looking a bit downfallen.

 

           “Sorry, but I needed to know. Besides, you never asked why.” Lux pointed out, only to dodge out of the way of Solas trying to jump on her. After a few minutes, he admits defeat, and grabs a drink of water as Lux settles down and watches TV until dinner is ready. Lux knows that an attack is likely, especially tomorrow morning. However, she also knows that there will be an ulterior motive.

 

           “Lux. Dinner.” Came her father’s voice and she left the two to argue about who was right. Dorcha and Solas both knew that Lux was just trying to keep the team together and if that meant keeping track of her teammates, then so be it. As Lux ate dinner, she found herself not very hungry, which given how she was usually eating a lot lately, fighting void monsters really did work up an appetite. It wasn’t until Garen waved his hand in front of her face did Lux look up.

 

           “Lux honey is something wrong? You haven’t picked at your food in weeks.” Lux looked at her mother carefully.

 

           ‘Sure. I’m risking my life, and the lives of my friends trying to stop void monsters from destroying our planet. I also have no idea what I’m doing and just winging it mostly. I also am getting hurt on a regular basis and have to use magic to heal myself. But I look so good doing it. Want to see?’ Lux ran through the rant in her head but it never got past her lips.

 

           “Just a lot going on. I’m not sure why I’m hungry.” Lux admitted finally after picking at her food a bit more.

 

           “If you are thinking about something a lot, and if it really bothers you, you will lose your appetite. Both your mother and I have been there. Sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Lux turned to her dad, and figured that if she was going to say something, she would have to generalize it as much as possible.

 

           “Ever been so worried about two of your friends that you have to send two others to keep an eye on them?” Lux asked. She picked her words so carefully. Both of her parents looked at each other.

 

           “Are you worried about them?” Mrs. Crownguard asked.

 

           “Yes. I’m worried about a spat between them and I sort of had to leave out why I asked my other two friends to watch them.” Lux said, her voice trying to stay neutral, but her frustration crept in.

 

           “It happens more often than you think Lux.” Her father chimed in. “It happens all the time. If you are worried about someone, and if everyone are true friends, then they will be angry, but they will understand. The point is by asking someone else to keep an eye on them, you are making sure they are ok and it shows you are worried about them.”

 

           “Now if you will stop sending rookies to the hospital that would be great.” Mr.  Crownguard turned to his wife and blushed. Every attack, he had someone swing by the hospital.

 

           “Thanks. But I’m still not hungry. I’m going to go back upstairs.” Lux excused herself from the table and headed upstairs and sitting down on her bed.

 

           “We heard that you know.” Dorcha said, hopping over.

 

           “Yeah. You are a leader, and I’m sorry for overreacting. It shows you care and care about the team. Poppy and Lulu will understand. Hopefully when our fifth teammate arrives, they won’t be this problematic.” Solas said, hopping into Lux’s lap and allowing her to pet him. Lux reached to pet Dorcha as well and while her appetite hadn’t returned, her good mood had. Smiling, she jumped over to her computer, grabbed her headset, and began to play. Forgetting about the small mountain of homework waiting for her. As evening came, Lux did find herself wandering down and grabbing something to eat before turning in.

* * *

 

           Poppy again found herself staring at the moon, knowing what was up there and still being unable to do anything about it was frustrating. What was more immediately frustrating was the fact that Lulu didn’t seem to do her job. Sure it seemed like she did her job today, but that was today. What about tomorrow? Poppy was so distracted that she didn’t even notice a knock on her door.

 

           “Poppy? You ok.” Her father walked in and Poppy turned to face him. “Ok now I know something is wrong. What is it?” Her father pulled up a chair and faced his daughter.

 

           Poppy took a deep breath, and after selecting her words, spoke. “It’s just a new friend. We are working on a project and I feel like she isn’t doing her part. She keeps spacing out and not paying attention. Whenever we have a meeting, she can’t seem to stay focused.” Poppy just sighed as she hopped onto her bed.

 

           “Well did you think that she is doing her part? Or that she was brought up differently? I mean Poppy come on. You and I share a lot. We are both determined, no nonsense, and as your mother puts it, thick headed. We both have that mentality of being able to stay focused and while this works, it can sometimes come back to bite us. Trust me, it has happened enough with me. Don’t let it happen to you. Think about your friend, her situation, and everything before you rush to judgement.” And with that, he left. Poppy just put her head on her pillow knowing he was right, but he also thought it was about school not life and death.

* * *

 

           Janna was walking with Lulu in the park trying to get used to their newest teammate and she found Lulu just enjoying herself. Lulu was more than happy to point out things that Janna usually missed, and even Zephyr was paying attention. “Lulu how do you know this?” Janna asked after about 20 minutes.

 

           “Well I told you that we moved around a lot, so I didn’t have time to make friends before we moved and eventually I just stopped because it was so hard to keep in touch after we left. They made new friends and so would I so I couldn’t take it. After a point, I just started walking in the forests and learning about nature and how I just seemed to know so much about it.” Lulu said as she came to a stop near a tree. “Here let’s rest.” Lulu sat down, and Janna followed.

 

           “It must have been difficult.” Janna was at a loss for words to respond to that. Lulu just looked at her and smiled.

 

           “It’s ok. School changed so much that I just started teaching myself. I couldn’t get involved in anything because sooner or later we’d be moving again so I just stopped paying attention and instead taught myself things that I knew I would need to know and that seemed to satisfy my parents. That and passing tests and exams. For the first time, I feel like I have a real connection to a place that isn’t a forest. However, I still might be a bit spacy for a while but I also get these visions from time to time.

 

           “When I get them, I just have to draw them, write about them, or do something otherwise I can’t get it out of my head. I hope they continue otherwise I wouldn’t have found you and found what I could do positive with these visions.” Lulu finished and turned to Janna again, who was just smiling.

 

           “Well just don’t space out in a fight and I think we will be good.” Janna said, and they both paused, then laughed.

 

           “It’s kind of hard. There’s another focus there. During practice, sorry but I’ll keep trying.” Lulu said as she hung her head a bit.

 

           “That’s all we ask Green.” Janna said as she and Lulu laughed again. They both noticed the time and they parted ways and headed home.

* * *

 

           As dawn approached, Lux, Janna, Poppy, and Lulu woke up early in a state of freezing cold. They all knew that Kog’Maw would be making his move soon. Lux looked out the window and knew that their time of peace would be over soon. However, what bothered her more was the fact that they knew Kog’Maw had some other plan and another objective but what was it. It would only be a matter of time until they found out.

 

           Lux was careful to put Dorcha, Solas, and a hoodie in her bag because given the temperature outside today, it would be odd to have one. As Lux headed out the door, she was hit with another blast of cold, but there seemed to still be no action. ‘Whatever that is, it’s probably getting ready. So I’ll be ready.’

 

           Kog’Maw was frustrated. His plan had fallen apart before it began. Unable to generate the 3 portals he needed, he had to place all of his faith in one, counting on the early morning traffic, Kog’Maw readied to drain energy from the people trapped in traffic. He could only hope that the guardians took the bait. He turned to Yilne

 

           “You have to keep them distracted at all costs. I must get to that scepter. If I see one guardian, this will be on your head.” Kog’Maw barked as he turned to begin his trek to the museum.

 

           “Yes master. I shall obey.” Yilne waited for Kog’Maw to leave then sighed. “Why do I have to take orders from that thing?” She said to no one in particular.

 

           “Because you were ordered to do so.” Came an unexpected voice. Yilne turned to see Malzahar floating there, and she instantly went to her knees.

 

           “I’m sorry great Prophet. I never…” She stammered but Malzahar cut her off with a wave of his hand.

 

           “I know what I am doing and if you do your job right, then he will do his. Just don’t underestimate the guardians. They are just one step away from being something that will be a problem. Well more of a problem.” Malzahar added quickly as he ripped open a portal and vanished through it. Yilne looked up to see Malzahar gone and sighed.

 

           “Great. Well this will be interesting.” She said, and waited for Kog’Maw’s signal.

* * *

 

           Lux, Poppy, and Lulu met up outside the school, and while Lux was nervous, Poppy kept it in check for the moment. Lulu was of course in her own world, but even she seemed to be paying attention. Lux knew that an attack would be soon but just as they were about to head inside, an alarm sounded, making them all turn on the spot and Lux pulled her phone while Poppy kept an eye out. Lulu had closed her eyes and seemed to be focusing.

 

           “It’s downtown. Let’s go!” Lux said as the three of them immediately split off from the rest of the students running into the building. Making for the point they all knew, well Lulu didn’t but she just followed knowing that they were going to the right place. Once there, they saw Janna waiting for them already.

 

           “To say it was chaos was an understatement. Ready?” Janna asked only to everyone else ready. Janna pulled her pendant from her neck and nodded. Lux just looked around and everyone nodded.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” They all transformed and made their way downtown. It wasn’t hard to find the source of the chaos as that creature managed to find a minion, who was now clearly trying to get as much energy as possible. Lux turned to Janna and Poppy.

          

           “Focus on taking out the collector and the orbs. We’ll deal with the minion.” Janna and Poppy nodded and took off towards the small horde of voidlings and Zzs that were collecting orbs. “Let’s go.” Lux said to Lulu, who just nodded and they charged to meet the minion head on. While she seemed to expecting the attack, the combination of Lux’s singularity and Lulu’s glitterlance seemed to throw her off as it clearly hurt.

 

           “Great just what I needed. You pesky Star Guardians are always a problem. Well this time you won’t be for I am the great Yilne. No one has ever stood against me and won.” Lux just sighed.

 

           “Seriously? Do you know how many times I’ve heard that? I’ve heard it far too often to even be intimidated by it anymore.” Lux just kept her talking while she saw Lulu moving around.

 

           “Maybe then you need to be afraid guardian.” Yilne didn’t attack but rather just stood her ground. Lux just laughed.

 

           “Please. I mean if every voidling who had said that to me was right, then I wouldn’t be here would I?” Lux said that way to quickly for her liking, but she kept the minion talking seeing Lulu was almost in position. Poppy took a quick note, and knew that this would be good, but couldn’t watch as a Zz decided at that moment to try and jump on her head. Poppy just wacked it with her hammer and moved on.

 

           “Well then, how about I change that pattern.” Yilne said clearly charging up for something.

 

           “Dream on. We are the Star Guardians, sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you.” Lux said ready to defend herself.

 

           “Well aren’t you all just so cute. Plan to back that up?” Yilne said.

 

           “Well not me but…” Lux said, and Yilne only had time to turn her head before being hit in the face with a Glitterlance and then polymorphed into an animal. Lux threw a singularity and detonated it along with several bolts from her baton, while Lulu also sent some from her staff, with Pix sending a few from his ball. Yilne yelled once she had transformed back and charged right at Lux, only to get a binding to the face. Lux threw some more bolts and took a quick second to look over at Janna and Poppy who were how trying to keep energy orbs from going back as they had managed to destroy the collector.

 

           Yilne move to take a swipe at Lulu, only to have her gracefully dodge out to out the way while shielding herself. Yilne tried again, only to be hit with an energy pulse. Lux turned to see Debonair who just threw another energy pulse at Yilne, who roared in pain again. Transforming his weapon, he quickly charged straight in and his hammer found its mark sending Yilne flying.

 

           Poppy and Janna were still trying to prevent orbs, but with the few amount remaining, Poppy got frustrated. Spinning her hammer, she brought it down with great force, sending the remaining orbs shattering, along with a few voidlings and Zzs. Janna threw a twister for good measure but they knew that the creature got away with more than they wanted it too, which was none, but the bleeding was bad. Poppy and Janna turned to deal with the remaining void creatures.

 

           Lux threw another binding but missed as Yilne dodged around. Lux then noticed something missing. Lux turned to see Lulu running away and at a great pace. Lulu seemed to notice Lux watching and yelled back. “It’s at it again. I need to get there.” And she sped off. Lux just put her head in her hands now thinking Poppy was right, but Lux didn’t have time to dwell as Yilne took the opportunity to throw another attack her way. Poppy also noticed Lulu running off, but even she was taken a back since she seemed to be moving with purpose.

 

           Janna and Poppy finished off the remaining small creatures, and Janna moved to assist Debonair while Poppy talked with Lux. “Where is she going?” Poppy asked as Debonair slammed Yilne with his hammer as Janna shielded him from a retaliatory attack.

 

           “I have no idea all she said was ‘it’s at it again. I need to get there’”. Lux just stood puzzled. Lux turned to Poppy who was also thinking then she slammed her head into her hammer. Lux now was the one surprised. Poppy just groaned as she realized what Lulu was doing.

 

           “The stupid creature we fought the other day. It must be going for the scepter again. She’s going to need help. I’m going.” Poppy shouldered her hammer and charged off after Lulu to assist. Lux just smiled and turned to the fight that was still raging behind her. Smiling, she threw a singularity and detonated it and Yilne yelled again. Yilne then noticed there were two less Guardians and she saw Poppy running off and tried to charge after her.

 

           Janna had other ideas though. Winding up a twister, she threw it, knocking Yilne into the air. Upon landing back on the ground, Debonair send Yilne flying into a wall with his hammer. Lux then threw a binding, but again missed as Yilne managed to just dodge out of the way. Angry, she went flying at Lux, only to hit Lux’s and Janna’s barriers. Lux again threw a singularity, detonating it as Debonair threw out an accelerated energy pulse. Janna again threw a twister, and Yilne slammed back into the ground. Lux threw a binding this time, and it connected. Lux jumped into the air, channeling her powers.

 

           “Final Spark!” Lux threw all of her energy into the beam, but it didn’t finish Yilne. Instead she was heavily wounded, but still able to fight.

 

           “You will not beat me.” Yilne roared as she charged again, only to be met with Debonair’s hammer to her face. Yelling again, Yilne charged and managed to get a few swipes with her claws at Lux, who groaned in pain. Yilne circled around to hit Lux again, only to be thrown back into a tree as Janna channeled her Monsoon. Yilne looked up to see Lux back on her feet with her wounds healed. Lux threw a singularity and detonated it before Yilne could regain her senses, along with a couple of bolts from her baton. Zephyr jumped and slowed Yilne down as Debonair fired more energy pulses. Yilne roared again, but apparently wouldn’t go down.

 

           Thinking quickly, Lux acted like to throw a binding, causing Yilne to dodge out of the way. Debonair, seeing this, transformed his weapon, and where Yilne landed, he knocked her back into a tree. Janna threw a barrier around Debonair as he proceeded to get into a melee contest with the minion and Lux continued to poke with her baton. Janna also sent some bolts from her staff as she threw a couple of twisters to keep Yilne running and on the back foot.

 

           Eventually the sheer amount of damage started to be apparent. Yilne eventually just collapsed to the ground after Debonair smash her into another tree. Lux threw a binding to keep her there, and then leaped into the air again. “Final Spark!” Lux threw as much power as she could into it, and Yilne vanished in a pile of dust. When Lux landed back on the ground, she immediately collapsed to her knees, lightheaded and exhausted. Janna went to her side as Debonair surveyed the damage around. Whoever took care of the park where they fought was probably going to kill them, but there was damage to vehicles, but most of it was from the initial attack as they crashed into each other. EMTs were already moving into extract people and coming towards them was Vi. She paused as she saw Lux on the ground breathing heavily.

 

           “She going to be ok?” Vi asked, flaring her hextech gauntlets.

 

           “I’m fine. Just winded.” Lux managed to say from the ground as she carefully stood up, but almost fell down again as Janna grabbed her teammate to prevent her from falling. “Ok maybe not as fine as I thought. Just exhausted.” Lux said as she turned her head to Vi, who still looked worried.

 

           “Maybe you should see one of those medics before you head out?” Vi’s voice said it wasn’t an order or a suggestion, but rather a question. Lux just shook her head, but then smiled.

 

           “You could get us a ride to Vel’Koz’s museum. There is something else going on there however. I’m not sure about running right now.” Vi just nodded and called over her radio. Lux looked surprised, but as she looked up, she just smiled. Landing in the middle of the park, was one of the police helicopters.

 

           “Get in! You won’t get out of here on the ground easily. Traffic is gridlocked all the way there. Here you will get there in record time.” Vi yelled over the chopper as the team climbed in.

 

           “What about Caitlyn?” Lux yelled back.

 

           “Who do you think is flying?” Vi answered as she closed the door. Lux turned to see Caitlyn smiling as she took the chopper into the air. Lux grabbed a headset, which didn’t sit well because of her tiara.

 

           “So what’s going on at the Museum?” Caitlyn asked as she maneuvered between the buildings downtown climbing all the time.

 

           “A few days ago, a new void creature attacked the museum, looking to steal Malzahar’s scepter from it. We think he’s trying again and that this was both a distraction and a way to gather energy. Clearly though something went wrong.” Janna said as Lux was still trying to recover.

 

           “Have you asked Vel’Koz about this new monster?” Caitlyn asked as she maneuvered to the museum.

 

           “We did after the fight, but he had no information about it. He reasoned it was either newly created, or had just risen in the ranks.” Lux said as Debonair just sat there and listened. “Vel’Koz did say though that was good news since the attacks it planned wouldn’t be as good, and if today was any indication, then it would be just chaos on chaos.”

 

           “Just lovely.” Caitlyn said as they approached the museum. “Where to drop you off?” She asked.

 

           “Just in front of the main steps. We’ll take it from there.” Caitlyn nodded and brought the chopper down in front of the museum, and the team piled out once it was on the ground and charged up the steps. Caitlyn radioed for reinforcements to the museum.

 

 

           As Lulu ran up the steps into the museum, she headed in a straight line to the room where Malzahar’s scepter was. Once she got there, she again saw the creature trying to use its acid to break the case. “Oh no you don’t.” Lulu yelled and threw Pix onto it, which slowed Kog’Maw from turning and she then sent a glitterlance into his face. Kog’Maw roared but didn’t counterattack.

 

           “Again you interrupt my plans little one. No one can stand against Kog’Maw for long. Let’s see how long you will last.” Kog’Maw taunted.

 

           “Longer than you think you ugly thing.” Lulu countered and immediately shielded herself as Kog’Maw roared and opened up with his acid. Lulu dodged around, throwing lances as she dodged Pix between the two of them, doing damage and shielding. However, Lulu wasn’t fast enough as she eventually took a hit in the leg. Tripping and falling, Lulu managed to somehow recover and she rolled and somehow wound up on her feet.

 

           Kog’Maw clearly wasn’t happy with that as he charged again, but Lulu just sped herself up and then saw something out of the corner of her eye. “Go Pix!” Lulu said, and she dove out of the way. Kog’Maw looked confused but then turned.

 

           “Hey ugly!” Poppy charged and then pinned Kog’Maw into a wall. “So you just don’t know when to give up do you.” It wasn’t a question. Kog’Maw roared in frustration and anger and tried to attack both Poppy and Lulu but ended up only doing nothing as they both dodged around his attacks and got in a few of their own as well. Lulu using Pix to throw lances while Poppy used her hammer to keep herself between Kog’Maw and Lulu, who had moved into a more support position. Poppy kept up the pressure as Lulu kept looking for an opening, however again their luck ran out.

 

           Poppy threw her buckler and Lulu provided a shield, but Kog’Maw just opened up onto Poppy and the shields quickly failed resulting in Poppy getting a burn on her arm. Lulu, seeing this, quickly charged her powers. “Up we go!” Poppy opened her eyes and saw that she was almost 3 times her normal size. Poppy just smiled.

 

           “Well then. Let’s dance!” Poppy charged and Kog’Maw quickly started running around trying to dodge Poppy’s attacks, both from her charging, and from her hammer. Kog’Maw kept trying to fire at both Poppy and Lulu but Lulu would just shield herself, and Poppy would just either dodge out of way, or charge at Kog’Maw. Eventually Lulu’s spell wore off, but that didn’t stop Poppy from charging around. However, that again got her into trouble again. Poppy missed a pin and Kog’Maw seeing his opportunity, opened fire on Poppy. Lulu again managed to provide a shield, but it wasn’t enough and Poppy did walk away with a burn on her arm.

 

           “You ok?” Lulu asked, throwing a lance at Kog’Maw to force him out of the way. Poppy just turned and nodded. Lulu smiled and quickly threw another lance to keep Kog’Maw pinned in place. Poppy charged again, and managed to pin Kog’Maw into another case. Lulu took the opportunity to throw yet another glitterlance into Kog’Maw’s face. Poppy retreated only to come right back and get in more than a few licks with her hammer. Kog’Maw attempted to fire at the retreating Guardian only to find himself polymorphed into another animal. Poppy just smiled as she maneuvered for another hit.

 

           Kog’Maw returned to his normal self only to see a very confident Poppy charge right into him. He did open up into Poppy’s face, only to have it completely roll off the shield Lulu had given Poppy. Poppy slammed into Kog’Maw, hit him quite a few times, but he recovered quickly and turned again to Poppy who was trying to find cover. Poppy, seeing this, threw her buckler and she shielded herself but Kog’Maw just opened fire with his acid, hitting both Guardians, knocking them to the ground.

 

           “Well it seems that I have won this fight. Now to finish it.” He taunted as he charged straight at the two. Poppy and Lulu only looked at each other and nodded. Lulu polymorphed Kog’Maw again and Poppy charged up her hammer. Lulu threw a glitterlance for good measure to make sure that Poppy would connect. Kog’Maw morphed back only to see Poppy’s hammer come flying down. He was knocked into the air, bounced off the ceiling, and then slammed into the ground. Kog’Maw was disoriented for a moment, but quickly got back on his feet only to see Lulu and Poppy had gone.

 

           “Where are you two?” Kog’Maw taunted as he wandered around. As he turned a corner, he found himself face to face with the Guardians, only to get yet another glitterlance and hammer blow to his face. Reeling back, he looked around and seeing the guardians, opened up again. Lulu and Poppy attempted to shield themselves but they knew it wasn’t enough. Once Kog’Maw stopped firing he expected them to be on the ground in pain, apparently so did Poppy and Lulu as they all looked up to see them fine. Kog’Maw then saw a shimmering around him and it detonated in his face. Poppy and Lulu turned to see Lux and Janna in the doorway. Out of the corner of her eye, Poppy saw something and pulled Lulu to the ground. A large energy pulse flew over their heads as Debonair fired and connected. Hard.

 

           Kog’Maw roared in pain as he knew that his minion had failed. “You may have won this battle guardians, but you won’t win this war.” Kog’Maw ripped open a portal and vanished through it. Lux and Janna ran over to Poppy and Lulu.

 

           “You two ok?” Lux asked. Poppy and Lulu just looked at each other, smiled, and nodded.

 

           “We’re good.” Poppy said turning to Lulu. Lux knew that there was more than one thing they were referring too.

 

           “Hold still everyone.” Janna said as she summoned a monsoon and healed everyone’s wounds.

 

           “Thanks, but I should be going. See you all again.” Debonair quickly bead a hasty retreat. As the team got to their feet, Lux turned to see Vel’Koz floating over to them.

 

           “Well that was some fight wasn’t it?” He asked Poppy and Lulu who just nodded. Poppy however just turned to Lulu.

 

           “Lulu, I’m sorry for what I said earlier. You know what you are doing and I’m not as understanding as I should have been.” Lulu just smiled and sprang forward to give Poppy a hug, which she returned. Lux and Janna just smiled and they knew that with all of their issues and problems, things would be ok.

 

           “Well you two did manage to a lot of damage, but what Kog’Maw didn’t know is that I specifically designed that case to prevent what he just attempted. You need Guardian magic to unlock it. Also, I plan to move it to the vault because clearly they will try again.” They all heard a door crash open and Vel’Koz quickly shifted his tone of voice and demeanor.

 

           “Well thank you all again. Hopefully that will be the last time we get something like that here. Now I will have to see to my security system. Thank you all again.” Vel’Koz quickly floated off as Caitlyn made her way over to the Guardians.

 

           “Well it seems that you managed to handle everything. I’m assuming though the damage here won’t be an issue?” Caitlyn was keeping her voice neutral.

 

           “I can fix it.” Vel’Koz said from the edge of the room. There was a loud thud as one of the exhibits hit the floor. “I think.” He added as he turned to see what fell. That got everyone laughing.

 

           “Well if he doesn’t have an issue then neither do I. Get going.” Caitlyn said and the team quickly made to look like they were leaving, and once they were sure they were out of sight and earshot, they dived through one of the concealed entrances to the tower and waited for Vel’Koz as he dealt with the police and the damage from their fight. Once he entered, he found the team relaxing.

 

           “Well if you could kindly keep the fight away from the museum next time things would be great.” They all had a laugh at that. “Seriously though, you all did good with the rapidly changing situation and the fact remains that there was something else at work here. Malzahar has rarely attacked the same place twice without some purpose and I highly doubt this was sentimental that he was looking for.” Vel’Koz trailed off in thought as the rest of the team also began thinking.

 

           After nearly an hour of brainstorming, they were still no closer to the answer but one thing all of them agreed on was the fact that there was something else going on and there was an ulterior motive to Malzahar’s actions. Since they had little else to go on for the moment, they all just agreed to break and try and come up with some theories. Lux watched the rest of the team go before she left herself. While the relationship between Poppy and Lulu will probably still be tense for the time being, the fact that Poppy came around was good. Lux smiled to herself as she finally grabbed her bag and headed home, knowing the lecture that would probably be waiting for her.

* * *

 

           On Runeterra’s moon, Malzahar was furious. Not only had Kog’Maw failed to retrieve his scepter, he had also failed to get the amount of energy that was needed. “You have failed horribly. Pray that your next assignment will be easier. I suggest you plan before you execute your plan this time. Now be gone from my sight.” Kog’Maw quickly ran out of the throne room while Malzahar fumed.

 

           Outside Cho’Gath wandered over to Kog’Maw. “Be careful little one or you might be my next meal.” He taunted as Cho’Gath continued on.

 

           “It isn’t my fault that I didn’t get what I asked for. You could have done something to help you big oaf.” Kog’Maw quickly threw some acid at Cho’Gath, and while the larger void creature brushed it off, Cho’Gath knew that if Kog’Maw can’t get energy, and a lot of it soon, then the only thing that could happen is they all have issues with doing anything. True they did damage the barriers, but that didn’t stop the guardians.

 

           In the throne room, Malzahar was still fuming, mainly because he could sense something else. Something powerful and it wasn’t on their side. The last guardian was close to revealing themselves and he knew that he had to get to them first, but he also had no way to track them, unlike the rest of the guardians, who could find this person quickly. Admitting defeat for the moment, Malzahar retired to his room to come up with another plan to get another piece of what he left behind in order to grow his power.

 

           “Blasted guardians. They will pay.” He growled as he drifted off to sleep.


	25. Hop, Skip, Jump, Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With his latest plan backfiring, Kog’Maw now has to focus on gathering other objects that Malzahar possessed while he was on Runeterra. He must also gather energy at the same time, and now he sets his sights on both. Even if he doesn’t have a good plan. Yet.

           The music was deafening but that doesn’t meant they didn’t’ enjoy it. Lux, Janna, Poppy, and Lulu were at a concert Central Park and while they were there officially to see if Kog’Maw would attack, that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy themselves. The DJ on stage was just killing it and her music echoed around the whole area. The concert itself was a prime energy source and given how Kog’Maw rarely planned before attacking, it would be obvious that he might attack here.

 

           If the Guardians were disappointed with the lack of an attack, their faces didn’t show it as they left, along with a lot of classmates and headed home for the inevitable lectures from parents about concerts on school nights. The team walked as much as they could together before they split off heading home, and while they all got the lecture, they all got a good night sleep as a result.

 

           The lack of an attack was also noticed by Vel’Koz who had likewise expected an attack was surprised as the concert ended without so much as a peep from his former associates. Vel’Koz decided to take one last look around the Library before the early night shift left and the overnight shift started. The Library was open at all hours and he found it to be more helpful than a problem. The university students never failed to help out as they wrote papers, and did projects late into the night. He found it funny but as much as other patrons complained about them, the students were also the cleanest. Frequently staying quiet and cleaning up after themselves. The ones who complained were often enough the ones who were loud and messy.

 

           Vel’Koz floated around and saw a fair share of students tonight. He also noticed a girl in the corner who was just listening to music and having the vibe of “please just leave me alone”. In another, another girl was looking out the window in between looking at her laptop. At one of the couch pods, another younger student was watching videos. Vel’Koz almost asked him to leave, but saw the paper on another laptop and clearly someone was trying to just take a break before getting back to the grind. The table behind the laptop was also a mess with books and papers.

 

           Chucking to himself, Vel’Koz checked in with the staff and noticed many of them were in a good mood. “Concert?” he asked again and again, and the answer was all the same. “Yes.” After taking a final loop, he headed to his office to work on a few things before the morning.

 

           The following morning still was a challenge for Lux to get out of bed and get ready for school. Today was going to be a very long day for her, Poppy, and Lulu. They had a mock exam today for their end of year examinations. Meaning they are spending the entire day taking test after test after test. Letting her head drop, Lux headed down for breakfast before heading out and meeting up with Amy on the way to school.

 

           “Well today won’t be boring will it?” Lux just shot Amy a glare as Amy tried to lighten up the situation. “At that concert last night?”

 

           “Yes.” ‘For more than one reason, but yes.’ Lux just let her head hang again while Amy kept walking next to her.

 

           “Well that’s your own fault isn’t it. I mean you have been complaining about not getting enough sleep and you decide to go to a concert at that time?” Amy’s voice turned a bit angry but Lux also noticed the concern in her voice.

 

           “Well it is still hard to sleep isn’t it. I mean the attacks haven’t stopped and I’m still getting caught in a few of them.” Lux didn’t let her anger or frustration at not really having a day off get into her voice.

 

           “Yeah that can be hard, I understand. At least there is a bright side.” Lux just looked very inquisitively at Amy. “Well there is something for us to look up to.” Lux just laughed at that and because she wasn’t paying attention, tripped over a rise in sidewalk and barely managed to catch herself before falling on her face. Now Amy was laughing while Lux just groaned.

 

           When they had finally gotten to school, it seemed everyone was at the concert last night, even Ms. Teller who just assigned work and seemed to struggle to keep from falling asleep. The whole class was working on various assignments at different points, but because most were just so tired, there was little talking.

 

           Janna was likewise enjoying a lazy day, but since she moved around, trying to catch up on a little sleep was harder. Made harder still when several of her teachers hadn’t gone to the concert, or had kids that did so they were wide awake. Janna just looked out a window in more than one class, waiting for lunch.

 

           When lunch did finally arrive, it wasn’t hard for them to meet up and discuss the events of the night before.

 

           “Well at least we dodged an attack.” Poppy said as she looked over at Lulu, who was just drawing again.

 

           “Which doesn’t make any sense. I mean usually something like that was a perfect target for gathering energy.” Lux responded as she attempted to think, but her brain was just not cooperating.

 

           “Well could Kog’Maw be looking for something else?” Lulu asked, looking up.

 

           “We didn’t rule that out the other night, but what could he be looking for? That’s the real question.” Poppy said turning to Lulu but even Poppy couldn’t think of an answer. “I mean he went after Malzahar’s scepter, but what if it wasn’t for the reasons we think?”

 

           “What other reason apart from sentimental reasons could there be?” Janna asked looking around for anyone else approaching really quickly. However, no one responded as there was no reason to as none of them could find a reason. Lux looked around at the team. Lulu was drawing again but clearly still listening; Poppy was clearly in thought but seemed frustrated with the lack of an answer; Janna was likewise in thought and seemed to be not paying attention.

 

           “Well then I guess we have to find out what he’s after.” Lulu said as she grabbed another pencil for some detail. “He can’t keep it secret forever, and I’m sure we will figure it out.” With that, everyone seemed to agree and they all just returned to eating lunch and watch everyone else eat, then take a nap.

 

           When school finally let out that afternoon, the team headed to the tower, where they did some training before Vel’Koz showed up about an hour later. “I’m guessing you are also equally clueless about Kog’Maw’s motives. While I know he can’t get to the scepter, I’m worried about whatever else he could be trying to get at. Or maybe that was all a distraction.” Vel’Koz said as he floated around the base level of the tower. The team just looked at him with some disappointment. Usually he had the answers in a situation like this, but if Vel’Koz was clueless, then it wasn’t good.

 

           “Well we can’t come up with anything either, apart from the fact he is looking for something.” Lux said as Vel’Koz finally stopped pacing. “I think this is just going to have to be a wait and see situation where we are going to be reacting for a while until we know what he is up to. We know they need energy so let’s focus on that for the time being. What’s the next big event?” Lux asked as she turned to Janna. Janna quickly pulled her computer and shook her head.

 

           “Nothing big for a few weeks. Unless something just pops up suddenly, I think it will be easy to see where Kog’Maw is attacking.”

 

           “Well until then, I think we should all get some sleep.” Poppy said, suppressing a yawn. The rest of the team agreed silently and they all headed home.

* * *

 

           As Kog’Maw surveyed the city, he knew that getting to his objective would be difficult. Malzahar was looking for him to secure his prized boots and that wouldn’t be easy. They were being housed in yet another museum, but this one he would be able to break into and steal without much of a problem. However, the main issue is still he needed to gather energy and with the guardians watching for yet another attack, it wouldn’t be easy. He needed a distraction and he needed one bad.

 

           As Kog’Maw chomped down on yet another snack, he had an idea and quickly made haste to one of the rooms to seek out someone in particular. After a few minutes of frantic searching, Kog’Maw spotted her.

 

           “Lisna, I require your services.” The large void creature turned. She was remarkably thin, but having scissors for one hand, and the other having needles instead of fingers, well mostly.

 

           “What do you want, can’t you see I’m busy? The fashion of this world is remarkable. Functional yet fashionable. It is amazing. I can see why Vel’Koz decided to stay here.” Lisna just drifted off in her speech and Kog’Maw just stood there for a second.

 

           “I will say this again. I require your services. How would you feel about planning a fashion competition?” Kog’Maw saw the reaction he wanted. “There is a famous designer visiting the city and I want you to take her place and form a fashion competition to draw as much energy out of those people as possible. While you are doing that, I will attempt to steal Malzahar’s boots from the museum that attaches to the competition area.”

 

           “Very well. See something interesting for a change. Let’s go chomper.”

 

           “It’s Kog’Maw!” He roared, but took off after Lisna.

 

           That evening, Lisna made her way down to the planet and found the designer. Quickly zapping her energy, Lisna transformed herself into a mirror image of her, and then set about learning as much as she could so she could set up the competition. However, just as she started working on how to implement it, she found that the competition Kog’Maw wanted was already set up, but not promoted. “Well we have to change that. Some marketing will go a long way for this. Maybe I can even lure those pesky guardians into my trap. I mean those outfits are just so fashionable.”

 

           “Focus on the task at hand.” Kog’Maw said as he portaled into the room.

 

           “I know, but remember you wanted my services. So you have to deal with me and everything that comes with it.” Lisna said dismissing Kog’Maw, who just decided to sit in a corner and fume.

* * *

 

           The following morning brought an unnatural chill to the team and they knew Kog’Maw had launched his next plan but they were in the dark. It would be difficult to find out especially since they all had to be in school. Lux turned to Dorcha and Solas as they shook themselves awake.

 

           “You two feel it right?” They just nodded. “I need you two to find out what it is and what is going on. Don’t try to do anything, just report back. Get Zephyr and Pix if you can to search as much of the city as quickly as possible.”

 

           “Got it.” Dorcha said and quickly hopped off to get Pix. Solas just nodded and went off to grab Zephyr. Lux turned to her homework and after shoving it into her bag, headed downstairs for breakfast. Garen was not his usual self that morning. Very tired and almost falling asleep. Normally he was the morning person while Lux was more a of night person.

 

           “Awake there sleepyhead?” Lux asked, taunting him, but he barely responded. Lux then looked at him and he didn’t look well. “Garen are you ok?” At least this time he nodded.

 

           “Tired.” That was apparently all Lux got before he put his head down on the table, and a few seconds later, Lux heard snoring. Lux shook her head and turned to see her mother entering.

 

           “He fell asleep again?” She asked. Lux just nodded. “Well just leave him then. I’ll call him out and he can sleep it off. Whatever it was. That’s the thing, I checked on him last night, and he was asleep on his bed. He can’t fake his snoring, but you can.” Lux just shot an angry look back. “Well get going before you are late. What’s with the hoodie?” Lux noticed it hanging out of her backpack.

 

           “Just chilly for some reason. No idea why. I’m not sick, just the chills I guess.” Lux said as her mother approached. Lux quickly got out before she could make an issue of it and quickly started going off to school. Once she was far enough away, Lux slowed down and literally ran into Amy, who had been waiting for her.

 

           “Jeez you are klutzy lately.” Amy said as she managed to keep from falling, while Lux was picking herself up from the ground, rubbing her leg in the process.

 

           “Yeah I can’t explain it. I just have a lot on my mind and I can’t seem to focus for long.” Lux just hung her head in a bit of shame. Amy just put her arm around her friend.

 

           “It’s fine. I’m sure all of these attacks aren’t doing anyone any favors.” Lux just nodded as Amy kept talking all the way to school. Once Lux had sat down, she watched as Poppy came in, who just nodded and was likewise carrying a hoodie. They both turned to see Lulu enter, who was also carrying one, and Pix was absent. Lulu winked discreetly at the two of them as she took her seat. Lux smiled as she knew that they had four others running around trying to find the source of the void energy.

* * *

 

           For their part, Dorcha, Solas, Zephyr, and Pix were doing their best to find the source of the energy. Lulu initially protested being away from Pix, but Pix spoke up and after a few squeaks, Lulu relented. The four of them were running around the city to find the source of the energy but they hadn’t had any luck by mid-morning. It was difficult because Kog’Maw had either laced void energy in the city, or whatever was causing the source of the energy was moving around. A lot. They all split up to try and trace the source, but had little luck.

 

           “Well this is just annoying.” Dorcha said to herself after chasing another dead end. Looking around, she knew that the source had to be close, but she just couldn’t pin it down. Sighing, she was just about to move on, when she felt a shift in the energy. Looking down, Dorcha saw it, or rather her. Dorcha noticed Lisna in her disguise and knowing she finally had her target, Dorcha did her best to follow her while keeping to shadows, which given the seeming erratic path Lisna was taking, wasn’t easy. Eventually she arrived back at the fashion studio and museum and Dorcha noticed the signs for the competition and event the following day. Knowing they finally had their target, she quickly sprinted off to tell the Guardians before they finished lunch.

* * *

 

           The team met in the park between their schools for lunch and as they were swapping stories about the day. Pix, Solas, and Zephyr had already returned having failed to locate anything.

 

           “It’s strange. Whoever or whatever it is, was moving around a lot. There are void echoes all over the city. There wasn’t a pattern that we could determine though.” Solas was saying in-between bites of the lunch Lux brought him.

 

           “I found similar instances as well. There seemed to be some pattern, but I couldn’t find it.” Zephyr said as he paused from eating his lunch. Pix just squeaked a few times in defeat, seemingly echoing the others as he hung his head. Lulu just gave him a quick scratch behind the ears, and he perked up.

 

           “What I’m worried about is Dorcha. She still isn’t back yet.” Poppy pointed out as she looked around again for the black poro. Everyone else took a look as well, but nothing.

 

           “Well she’s either found whatever we are looking for…” Lux started to say

 

           “Or she found someone to give her food and pigged out.” Solas finished as he started to laugh but stopped quickly at the looks everyone was giving him. “Bad joke?” Everyone just nodded in reply. Solas quickly put his head down and continued to eat in silence while everyone else got back to eating as well. As Lux checked her phone for the time, she looked around again. It wasn’t like Dorcha to miss a check in, especially when it involved food, and now she was getting worried.   


           Just when Lux thought about going to look for her, Lulu pointed. “There she is.” Lux turned to indeed see Dorcha skipping across the grass towards them. Janna quickly grabbed a bowl, put some water in it, and placed it on the ground. Dorcha quickly stopped, almost knocking over the bowl, but after about a minute, she hopped up onto the table.

 

           “Thanks. Anyway I did find what we were looking for. It’s that visiting fashion designer.” Everyone just looked puzzled. “You know the one who’s hosting that competition at the fashion studio downtown?” Again, everyone just looked confused. “The one with the advertising all over town?” Lux put her hand on Dorcha and she just paused.

 

           “Well you are warm, but not running a fever. You ok?” Lux asked, taking her hand away.

 

           “I’m sure of it.” Dorcha said defiantly. Janna pulled out her phone to look it up, but Poppy had beaten her to the punch. Poppy held out her phone a second later and put it in the middle of the table.

 

           “You mean this one?” Poppy asked, with a look on her face that showed she wasn’t sure.

 

           “Yep that’s it.” Dorcha said, with a triumphant tone in her voice.

 

           “Dorcha, I hate to say it, but this wasn’t here yesterday.” Janna said as she looked at the advertisement. Dorcha just hopped over to the phone and took a closer look. “I mean I looked over everything, but it seems like this wasn’t promoted until now. There has to be a reason they are pushing it now? Especially with less than 2 days until the actual event. I guess they need energy and are trying to get an audience.”

 

           The rest of the team just looked between the two as Dorcha just put her head down and sighed. Everyone knew she did well, but Dorcha thought she might have one up the team, but sadly while she presented information that they didn’t know, she also forgot that they were thorough when they were checking through events looking for something that Kog’Maw could use to get energy or at least cause a panic so he could get energy.

 

           “Well at least we’ve identified what is going on, and now we can prepare for it. But how?” Poppy said, her tone switching to serious in an instant. Lulu looks up from her notebook and points to Lux’s backpack.

 

           “Well that could be useful.” Lux looks as puzzled as everyone else for a moment, then it hits her. Lux quickly reaches into a pouch in her pack and pulls out the disguise bracelet. “Lux you could go as a contestant and we can be in the audience. If we see anything, we can duck out quickly, transform, distract whatever is the cause, then you transform.” Lulu stopped talking with a surprised look on her face. Well no more surprised than Poppy who just nodded.

 

           “Yeah that works. That works out well.” Poppy managed to stammer, surprised at Lulu’s idea. While different than what she was going to suggest, it was still very good. “We just need to be careful and we can’t go as a group. I’m sure we can find someone to go with.” Lulu and Janna just nodded. Lux looked nervous, but knew that she would have probably found herself in this situation anyway.

 

           “Well if we are done playing around with my plans for the weekend, we should meet up at the tower for a few practice rounds before everything hits the fan.” Lux said, and the rest nodded. Janna then checked her phone again, and saw the time.

 

           “Well this will be easier next year when all of you are at the high school as well. Well see you three later.” Janna quickly got up and left. Lux, Poppy, and Lulu quickly walked back to their own school and they all sat through their afternoon classes, clearly bored out of their minds.

 

           Once school had ended, the whole team quickly sprinted for the library and made their way to the tower. Once inside, Janna, Poppy, and Lulu transformed, while Lux worked the controls for the training room. Nasus behind her in case she needed a refresher on what did what. The majority of the remaining afternoon was spent training, and while Lulu did space out once or twice, her focus was much improved over just a few days ago. They all seemed to come to an agreement that if Lulu spaced out a bit, then it was time for a quick break.

 

           The whole point of the training was for the three of them to be able to distract whatever minion Kog’Maw sent to give Lux enough time to transform. While they managed to accomplish their objective, there was also the concern that something would go wrong and probably would, so Lux kept pushing them by throwing the unexpected and eventually even Poppy was exhausted. Fighting without Lux was a pain and while it could be done, it was the distracting bit that they were more concerned about. Failure to distract the minion enough, and Lux couldn’t transform.

 

           “Well I guess hope for the best, expect the worst.” Poppy said, collapsing against one of the walls. Janna and Lulu weren’t that far behind her. Lux walked over carrying some water and they all just down it instantly. Lux went back and got some more. Once they were all rehydrated, Nasus came over.

 

           “All of you are getting so much better and it shows. Planning for things like this isn’t easy and it may seem annoying, but the more you plan for things like this, the better off you will all be at adapting to unique situations. Now Lux, I suggest you get the information about this tournament and…oh” Nasus stopped as Lux handed him a few sheets of paper.

 

           “I did that while the rest of them were doing this. The competition is simple. It’s about showing off something practical, yet flashy. I don’t expect to win, but I know the bracelet will do what it can. Still, maybe I might be able to influence it, I need to think about that a bit before I try and do anything. Still, I doubt we could even get into the area to see what everything looks like. So we’ll just have to be alert until then.”

 

           “Well maybe we can’t, but they probably could.” Poppy said as she pointed towards Dorcha, Solas, Zephyr and Pix. They all just looked at each other, and collectively put their heads down.

 

           “Oh don’t do that. You all can get into places we can’t, and make it look more like an accident if you get caught.” Janna said, looking at Zephyr in particular since he is often a pretty lazy cat. Pix just sort of hovered as Lulu nodded and he knew that he wasn’t getting out of it. Solas turned to Lux, who likewise had a look on her face that said, ‘you’re going’.

 

           “Fine. Just have something ready for all of us when we get home.” Solas said, now resigned to the fact they would be investigating the theater or whatever it was. “Just make sure you…” Solas trailed off as Lux pointed to Janna’s laptop, which had a completed registration form on it. Solas just sighed, while Dorcha just giggle behind him. “We don’t have to do this until tomorrow do we?” Solas asked, knowing the answer already.

 

           “I don’t see why not. I mean it is late, and they will be watching for anything odd. Tomorrow might be an easy way to get in as they have open sign ups. However, they will just have the atrium of the facility open.” Lulu said, clearly not wanting to push them, and there seemed to be a general agreement. “We promise to have lunch.” Lulu added and that got everyone to laugh. Everyone took that as the signal to pack up. Lux opened her pack and Dorcha and Solas jumped into the pouches she designed and finished for them, Zephyr jumped onto Janna’s shoulder, and Pix hovered to follow Lulu as they left through one of the exits into the library itself.

 

           As they split off on their walk home, Lux turned her thoughts to the upcoming mission and knew that it would be a challenge, but there had to be another reason apart from wanting energy. Lux stopped, then turned on her heel and headed back to the library. Dorcha hopped from her pouch to Lux’s shoulder. “Something wrong?” She asked.

 

           “Yeah. Why target something that hasn’t had any advertisement until basically today. A closed competition is now open? I mean doesn’t that sound at least suspicious. I really don’t believe in coincidences anymore. There’s got to be another reason. I can get a ride from Nasus if necessary, or just call my mom and have her pick me up. Say I was studying.” Lux added with a bit of a laugh. Dorcha climbed back into her pouch and turned to Solas, who nodded. Dorcha, Solas, and Lux each formulated a plan while Lux made her way back into the library and then along the secret route to Vel’Koz’s office. She knocked when she got to the concealed door, after checking the room was clear.

 

           “Come in. Oh Lux, I thought everyone had gone home and since Nasus said you had worked on a plan, I didn’t see the need to come down. But something is clearly bothering you.” Vel’Koz noticed the look on Lux’s face, and when Dorcha and Solas hopped out, he knew something was up. “What’s up?” Lux just lifted an eyebrow at him. “Ok I won’t do it again.” That broke the tension and Lux smiled before getting serious again.

 

           “I don’t know. I mean think about it, there has to be more to this than energy.” Vel’Koz just nodded, in his own way. “Why suddenly promote an event that had zero advertising until today basically, and that was also closed. It isn’t a coincidence, there is something else going on. Just what? I can’t get this out of my head. There has to be something else at this museum, or whatever it is for him to make such a bold play.” Lux ended and took a seat while she thought more.

 

           Vel’Koz lapsed into thought as well. “Well I can pull up an inventory of what is there. Maybe that will give us a clue.” Vel’Koz typed it out on his keyboard and brought up the inventory on his monitor and on the large screen for Lux to look as well. Dorcha took a position near Vel’Koz to look, while Solas hopped onto Lux’s shoulder. As they scrolled through the things on display from around the world, the word museum was really Institute, and inventory, exhibits. There wasn’t anything that jumped out at either of them. Vel’Koz carefully looked at everything and once they reached the end of the list, he sighed heavily.

 

           “I’m sorry, but I can’t see anything. Do you see anything?” He asked turning to Lux. She just shook her head, but there was something there that Kog’Maw was after.

 

           “What about sending the full list to one of your old friends. See if anything belonged to Malzahar?” Lux turned to look at Vel’Koz, and he nodded.

 

           “Not a bad idea. Worst that happens is they come back with nothing, but given the large amount of void attacks, even a hunch is enough. We probably won’t get an answer for a while though. Maybe even after the attack. I suggest you go home now I can get Nasus to give you a ride.” Vel’Koz reached for his watch, when Lux just waved him off.

 

           “I texted my mom. She should be here any minute. I’ll just wait outside for her. If I think of anything else, I’ll send you a message. Thanks again.” Lux grabbed her bag, let Dorcha and Solas hop in, and headed back out the way she came. Vel’Koz watched her go, then forwarded the information along with Lux’s hunch, changing a few things around to suggest the Star Guardians came to him asking for information. Which was true, from a certain point of view. Knowing he probably wouldn’t receive a response until the weekend, Vel’Koz began his evening rounds.

 

           Outside Lux waited for only a minute before she saw her mother pull up. “Thanks again” Lux said as she got into the car.

 

           “No problem. Just keeping your grades up?” Her mother asked.

 

           “Yep.” Lux said, as she sat back for the ride home. Lux couldn’t help thinking to herself about what Kog’Maw was after, but had a book open on her lap to convince her mother that she was still working on something. Dorcha and Solas carefully stayed in their pouches, which were comfortable enough that they didn’t really want to leave them until Lux got back to her bedroom.

* * *

            At the institute, Kog’Maw looked at Lisna work, and to be honest, he was curious how she managed to maintain concentration while working. She seemed to have no need for energy, even though they were all hurting for it at the moment.

 

           “Ok how can you do that. I know you are just as hungry as everyone else?” Kog’Maw asked in frustration.

 

           “Working on this keeps me focused and allows me to ignore the hunger for now. Honestly, for something like you, I’m sure it’s hard, but for ones like me who have been around for a while, you learn to deal with it.” Lisna was indeed focused on her work and wasn’t going to let Kog’Maw distract her. It was true that they were all hurting for energy right now, but one can learn to ignore it. For a while at least.

 

           “Very well. Just make sure that you are ready.” Kog’Maw ripped open a portal and vanished through it.

 

           “Just make sure you are ready.” Lisna snapped back after Kog’Maw left.

* * *

 

           The following morning didn’t bring the expected cold that the Guardians were expecting. Clearly whatever they were doing they were going to keep it under wraps until the following morning. As the team slowly got to school, Dorcha, Solas, Zephyr, and Pix went to the Institute and began looking around. That however was made difficult because of the large crowd that was outside it. Apparently a prize was now being offered, in addition to the modeling contract that was already being offered.

 

           Getting inside was difficult, but eventually Pix and Dorcha managed it while Solas stood watch at their entry points, and Zephyr kept an eye out from the roof. Once inside, the two split off and carefully made a map of the area, to allow the Guardians to plan their engagement better. The auditorium where the even was to be held was massive, and the exits were extremely easy to access. Pix carefully memorized a map of secluded areas where Janna, Poppy, and Lulu could transform while Dorcha memorized the layout of the auditorium and picked some nice areas where the three could sit, to give easy access to the areas Pix mapped.

 

           Once they were done, they made their way back out and then with Solas and Zephyr, hurried to the park where they could meet up with the team.

* * *

 

           The morning for the Guardians dragged on and on. Knowing there was a void plot going on, but also knowing there was little they could do about it for the moment were both aggravating. While Lux found a way to focus, Janna less so, Poppy was just out of it, and Lulu was of course in her own world. However, even Lux’s focus didn’t last for long and soon enough she was zoning out as well.

 

           Janna was having a much worse morning as it was lecture after lecture, but as she zoned out almost completely, she started to feel things, things she hadn’t felt in a long time. Looking up slowly as to not attract attention, she carefully examined her classmates, but quickly determined that not one of them was the source. She closed her eyes, dangerous, but she had to know. Reaching out, she could feel 4 power sources. Quickly determining that three were close together, which were Lux, Poppy, and Lulu, she attempted to find the fourth. After 5 minutes however, she gave up because she knew that if she didn’t attract attention already, she would soon enough. What she was able to determine however was that whoever was their 5th teammate, they were at her school.

 

           Once the bell for lunch rang, the four Guardians sprinted for the park, where Lux, Janna, and Lulu quickly began setting up for Dorcha, Solas, Zephyr, and Pix. However, since they were running late, they all talked about their day so far, Janna avoided mentioned what she did in class until they all arrived. Soon enough, they showed up, and Pix quickly began drawing a map, while Dorcha made a few notes. Solas and Zephyr avoided eating, knowing that they would be yelled at if they did so before Pix and Dorcha were done.

 

           “Well that’s it.” Dorcha finally said, and Pix squeaked in agreement. “This is the layout. The auditorium is 3 levels and has a number of exists. Pix marked these locations were the three of you can quickly get out, transform, and get back in. Lux, the stage is going to be a challenge. There is literally no place for you to transform without being noticed. While I’m confident the Masking ability will hide your identity, I’d rather not take the risk.” Lux just nodded as she studied the map.

 

           “Honestly, it is just going to be waiting until Kog’Maw triggers the trap, but we were also to confirm that the woman in charge, the fashion designer, is the minion. I’m unsure if she is being possessed, or if the minion drained her, then impersonated her. So that’s tomorrow then. Anything else?” Dorcha looked between the Guardians, until she rested on Janna, who was finally ready to talk.

 

           “There is something. While I was in class, I was zoning out. Hey 5 lectures in a row will do that.” She shot at the team, who were looking at her and almost laughing. “I felt something. Another presence. It was our last teammate. Whoever they are goes to my school, but I couldn’t find them. I don’t know who it could be, but what I do know is that they are close.” Lux just looked at Janna and smiled, Poppy nodded her head, while Lulu was beaming.

 

           “Well that helps us narrow the field but that’s still a lot of people to look through. Any way you could narrow it down further?” Zephyr asked, but he already knew the answer when he saw Janna’s face. “I guess not. Still though, it is a starting place. Back to the matter at hand however. I doubt Pix or myself will be allowed into the auditorium so we will have to find a way for us to get in.”

 

           “Covered that.” Lulu said. She picked up Pix and he slid carefully into her bag. Zephyr knew that wasn’t an option for him and Janna looked around then smiled. Zephyr immediately cocked his head in curiosity.

 

           “Come here.” Janna grabbed Zephyr and carefully put him around her neck where his head was hidden in her hair and he looked like a scarf.

 

           “This isn’t what I meant.” He said, from the back of Janna’s neck, and while Lux, Poppy, Lulu, Dorcha, Solas, and Pix were laughing their heads off, Janna let Zephyr climb down knowing that it wouldn’t work. “Maybe if you could get a large purse, I can fit in there.” Zephyr was clearly unhappy but as he looked around, he started laughing as well, and finally so did Janna. They all had a good laugh until Poppy checked her watch.

 

           “We need to get back.” They all looked a bit put out, but ditching class was a very bad idea. They all packed up and headed back to class. The afternoon however didn’t last nearly as long as they all thought it would. Knowing that they would all need a good night sleep before tomorrow, they all decided to just go home and make sure they were ahead of their work and other things because tomorrow would be a day where they wouldn’t be able to get anything done.

* * *

 

           As the next morning dawned, the expected freeze came as well. Lux didn’t want to get out of bed because she was so cold. A feeling that was shared among the team. Only with Dorcha pestering her to no end did Lux finally get out of bed. She carefully packed a small bag, and made sure she had the masking bracelet on before she carefully left the house. Meeting the rest of the team at the library, they all went over their plan one more time.

 

           “Ok then, here’s the tickets. They are assigning seats, so we will all be separated, but I managed to get aisle seats. So we’ll just have to deal with people walking over us for a time.” Janna said as she passed Poppy and Lulu their tickets.

 

           “How did you get aisle seats?” Poppy asked. Janna just looked away.

 

           “I have my ways.” She said, and while it was clear Poppy wanted to aske more, she also probably didn’t want to know the answer. Lux waited for the rest of the team to go over their plans one more time and then they all left together. Janna was carrying a larger purse than normal, and after Zephyr poked his head out, it was clear what was really inside. Pix was masquerading as a pin on Lulu’s shirt. Once they got close, Janna, Poppy, and Lulu headed on while Lux ducked into an alley. After making sure that no one was around her, she ran her fingers across the masking bracelet.

 

             “Masking Bracelet, transform me into a serious competitor for this competition.” Lux was hoping that it would work and once she got a better look at herself, it worked. She took a deep breath, and walked over to the main doors for competitors. Many of them were already wearing their outfits and they all just moved to check in. Lux then hit a moment of panic as she didn’t know what the bracelet had constructed the dress she was wearing out of. Then almost a second later, it passed into her memory. ‘Wow this thing is good. I really should use it more often.’

 

           Lux proceeded to the table to check in. “Name?” The person at the desk looked like they were already out of it.

 

           “Sierra Mons.” Lux replied, careful to keep the name she used on the registration form.

 

           “Very well. Yes, I have you here. If you would please head into room 3 and you will be called when it is your time.” Lux followed the instructions and after entering, she was in a bit of shock as many were trying to do last minute repairs or alterations to their outfits. Lux just carefully sat in a corner and stayed out of the way while she waited for the contest to begin.

* * *

 

           If Lux thought the others would have an easier time, she was wrong. Well for Janna at least. Poppy and Lulu, because they were yordles could easily sit in a seat and not have to get up often to let people in, but Janna was constantly doing that. ‘This is why I prefer middle seats’ she thought to herself after the 12th time or so, she’d lost track, it happened. Poppy could still see Janna, and was laughing every time it happened.

 

           After what seemed like forever, the designer came on state, and Janna, Poppy, and Lulu got an instant chill. At least they knew who the minion was.

 

           “Welcome to everyone. I know this was all done on a short notice, but while I liked what I saw, I couldn’t just restrict myself anymore. Today is about a one shot. It’s amazing how much you can tell about a designer based on a single concept. So let’s begin and good luck to all of our contestants.” The applause was deafening as people went crazy. As they did so, Janna, Poppy, and Lulu also felt something else. Something was pushing people’s energy up. A shiver ran down each of their spines, and they quickly made for exits.

 

           Because it was earlier than they expected, they all met up and after making sure they were clear, they all pulled their pendants.

 

           “Ready you two?” Janna asked. Poppy and Lulu nodded in reply.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” The three carefully landed back on the ground and made for the upper level. After bypassing a few people who were late, they made their way around a corner and found a few security guards already drained of energy. Poppy quickly made her way over to them.

 

           “They will be fine. Just be on your guard.” Making their way into the upper level, they found an isolated spot and despite being transformed, no one seemed to pay them any attention.

* * *

 

           “Ok everyone let’s go.” Lux turned to see one of the staff at the door and everyone quickly followed in the order that was posted in the room. Lux was careful to keep up her composure, despite the fact she hated high heels. This was also the first time Lux got a good look at how many people were actually in this competition.

 

           ‘There has to be over 100 people here.’ Lux thought to herself as they walked towards the stage. As they entered, Lux was careful to keep up and make sure her movements flowed together. Some of the others tripped but she managed to keep on her feet.

 

           “Next up, Miss Sierra Mons.” Lux took a deep breath, and then followed another girl down the runway. She looked for where Janna, Poppy, and Lulu were supposed to be seated, and she noticed they were missing. Keeping her eyes forwards, Lux caught something out of the corner of her eye. Choosing a pose that would allow her to look up, Lux noticed the three in the uppermost row of stands, fully transformed. ‘Well this isn’t good.’

 

           After Lux finished and returned to the back room, which was separated from the other one, where the rest waited, she finally felt that shiver run down her spine. Clearly there was a reason the others were transformed, but no sooner did she reach for her locket, did she feel tired. “Well Miss Mons, I guess now you will make a donation.” Lux turned to see the designer there. However, she didn’t move fast enough and was quickly on the ground.

* * *

 

           “This isn’t good. That’s everyone, now what?” Poppy asked Janna as she designer came back out on stage.

 

           “Whatever is about to happen, it won’t be good.” The three took to their feet as Janna finished and they began walking down from the balcony. As they passed through the people there, many of them quickly got the message and began heading for exits, knowing what was about to happen.

 

           “I thank you all for coming today, however now there is something you all need to do for me.” She seemed to completely oblivious to the fact the upper balcony was almost completely empty now and that three Guardians were standing in plain view. “Your energy will now belong to the void!” She yelled as she pressed a button on the stage with her foot and collectors sprang out of the walls and floor.

 

           No sooner did they appear than people began screaming, running, and panicking. However, as Lisna laughed, the sound of shattering glass caught her attention and she turned to see almost all of the collectors broken. Roaring in rage, she looked up to see the Guardians finally.

 

           “It’s really amazing how we’ve been standing here for about 5 minutes now and you completely missed us.” Janna taunted as she made ready to leap. Poppy had already balanced herself on the balcony rail, ready to leap, while Lulu was on one of the seats and ready to provide a lance, or shield as necessary.

 

           “Well then I guess I won’t miss this time. It doesn’t matter how many you have beaten before, no one challenges me and lives.” Lisna threw off her disguise, and threw needles at the three, who quickly dodged and they landed on the ground floor. Poppy wasted no time and quickly charged the stage. Lisna dodged Poppy, but got a glitterlance full in the face from Lulu as a consequence.

 

           “Deal with her.” Janna said and she quickly made her way across the stage, throwing a twister to keep Lisna on her guard, which Poppy took advantage of and plowed into her, knocking her off the stage. Lulu shielded Poppy and threw a few lances against Lisna as a helping hand.

 

           In the back Janna quickly looked around and found every designer passed out. “Well this can’t be good.” Janna stated and began looking for Lux. Just as she started however, she heard a groan.

 

           Lux was on the ground alright, but she wasn’t drained of energy like she thought she was going to be, however it was clear the bracelet had lost its power. Lux groaned as she regained her senses and shook off the tiredness she felt. As she did so, she could feel the cold, but also warmth. Lux looked up to see Janna floating there. Lux quickly looked around to see everyone else passed out.

 

           “You ok?” Janna asked, careful to keep their tone “unfamiliar” in case someone else woke up.

 

           “Yeah thanks.” Lux whispered, catching on quickly. She kept her voice low to prevent Lisna hearing them.

 

           “Good. You had best get out of here.” Janna told her, turning to go.

          

           “Wait, what about everyone else?” Lux pleaded, or at least made it look like she was.

 

           “They will be fine given time. You need to go however.” Lux just nodded in response to Janna and Lux tore off towards the other room, while Janna kept watch. Reaching privacy, Lux made absolutely certain she wasn’t being watched, and pulled her locket.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Lux transformed, and after she regained her bearings, charged out onto the runway. Lisna was charging at Poppy, but Lux had other ideas. Throwing a binding, Lisna was then hit with a few bolts from Lux’s baton and she screamed in pain.

 

           “You know, this was probably one of the worst ideas I’ve seen in a while. Wasting people’s talents and ambitions for your own twisted reasons. This is why you will never win. We are the Star Guardians. Sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you.” Lux finished and noticed Lulu was already ready with a lance.

 

           “Really? That’s what you’re going with?” Lisna still stood in place despite the fact that the binding had long wore off. Lux just smiled and Lulu fired. Lisna took it full in the side, and she collapsed to the floor. This time, she didn’t get up. “Well it seems like I underestimated you. But no matter I will…” but she didn’t finish. Instead of getting back up, she collapsed to the ground.

 

           Lux moved to her side, but Lisna lashed out and Lux jumped back. “Get back you fool. I will crush…” but she just collapsed instead. “So he was right.” Everyone moved a bit closer and this time she just stayed down.

 

           “Right about what?” Janna asked, concern in her voice.

 

           “He said I was to be a distraction and I believed that I could win, however he said that I shouldn’t push myself. I didn’t even want to do this. I was perfectly happy just doing my thing, but I can’t anymore. Just end it.” And Lisna collapsed to the ground.

 

           Lux just looked up and everyone looked back and they were all thinking the same thing, they couldn’t just end it. “Someone get Vel’Koz here quickly. In the meantime, let’s tie her up and figure out what Kog’Maw was doing here.” Poppy grabbed some of the rope that was being used in the event, and tied Lisna up while Janna signaled Vel’Koz to come to the Institute quickly.

 

           “Ok then. Let’s go.” The team followed Lux and after running through the Institute, following their senses and tracking Kog’Maw. After rounding a corner, Lux slams everyone back and shields herself as Kog’Maw unloads on her. Janna gets quickly to her feet and provides and additional shield for Lux, while Poppy starts charging around, and Lulu speeds her up before sending Pix to help Lux as well. Finally, Kog’Maw pauses and seeing Lux unharmed sends him into a rage, but he can’t do anything as Poppy uses that exact moment to charge him into a wall, before giving him a wallop with her hammer.

 

           Kog’Maw quickly regains his senses and after throwing a large ball of muck behind him, he charges off further into the Institute. A loud blast catches their attention as the team tries to keep up and they see a large energy pulse being sent down the hallway where Kog’Maw disappeared. As Debonair came around the corner, he saw the mess left behind.

 

           “You ok?” he questioned as he tried to suppress his laughter as the team made their way out of the muck.

 

           “Just disgusted. You hit him?” Janna asked.

 

           “No. I missed, but he tore off quickly into a hallway leading to some kind of exhibit.” Debonair started charging and the rest followed him. When they reached the hallway where Kog’Maw disappeared to, Lux grabbed him and checked around the corner before they went on. As she poked her head around the corner, she quickly pulled her head back as Kog’Maw was clearly waiting for them and unloaded on Lux. Looking at Poppy, Lux, Janna, and Lulu provided her with a shield while Poppy charged Kog’Maw, who managed to get away again, but Poppy charged off again, with the rest of the team in hot pursuit.

 

           When they got to a large hall, they noticed Kog’Maw grabbing a pair of boots, before ripping open a portal and throwing them through them. “You may have won the battle Guardians, but I won this fight.” He stuck out his extremely large tongue, and vanished through the portal.

 

           “What was all that about?” Debonair asked as he looked around at the whole team, who were equally confused.

 

           “No idea. However, we have something else to deal with. Thanks again.” Lux turned to Debonair as he nodded and left. The team quickly made their way back through the Institute ending up back in the auditorium. Lisna had woken up but wasn’t going anywhere as Vel’Koz was hovering over her.

 

           “I’m guessing this is the reason you contacted me?” He asked, keeping his tone neutral.

 

           “Yes. We were unsure what to do really. She just wanted us to end it but…” Lux paused as the hesitation crept into her voice.

 

           “It doesn’t matter. He just left me so my life is forfeit. I didn’t accomplish what I wanted to.” Lisna said.

 

           “Lisna, you didn’t want this did you?” Vel’Koz asked, now eye level, as much as possible, with her.

 

           “No. I wanted to just continue to work on what I wanted. I hated this conflict as there was no time. They are always running around trying to get energy, and Kog’Maw didn’t get anything near what they needed.” Lisna just collapsed against the stage, clearly exhausted.

 

           “What do you mean?” Poppy was not beyond curious as her face softened.

 

           “Malzahar burned so much energy in the last attack that they are not only trying to get energy, but something else. I’m not sure what, but I didn’t get the energy he needed. By the way how have you survived all of these years?” Lisna turned to Vel’Koz.

 

           “I have a void energy collector and I draw from people who enter my museum and my library. It is such a small amount that no one notices, and at this point no one cares as I make sure that everyone knows. With that, I have not only been able to survive, but also be able to go out in sunlight without frying to a crisp.” Vel’Koz’s pride showed through his voice but he also softened his voice as he saw Lisna was suffering from deprivation.

 

           “Well Malzahar burned more energy than he was expecting and as a result, our reserves are low. We’ve been able to get by, but we need a large haul soon or people will be placed into stasis. I am really just tired of that life, and…” but she clearly had no more energy as Lisna just passed out. Vel’Koz turned to the Guardians with a look of panic.

 

           “I can provide her with what she needs, but I’m worried about having someone in our midst that could betray us.” Vel’Koz was clearly in a bit of a panic, but Lux knelt down next to Lisna, and placed her hand on her arm. Lux closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Everyone waited for a minute before she stood up again.

 

           “Come on, let’s go. Janna give me a hand.” Lux put one of Lisna’s arms over her shoulders, while Janna helped with the other one. Vel’Koz led the team out to a loading bay where Nasus was waiting.

 

           “She’s coming with?” He sounded puzzled as they helped Lisna into the back.

 

           “Yes. Now get us back as quickly as possible.” Nasus still looked puzzled, but nodded at Janna, as she pulled a blanket and covered Lisna. Lux climbed into the back as well, while Vel’Koz got into the back, Poppy in the front, while Lulu waited.

 

           “Go. There’s something else. I’ll be fine.” Lulu told the team as Poppy made a move to get out. Nasus nodded and pulled out and tore off towards the museum. Once they were there, with a police escort, Lux and Janna helped Lisna out of the back and followed Vel’Koz down to his living quarters. Once there, Vel’Koz went over to a machine in the corner, and after grabbing a glass, pored some liquid into it.

 

           “Open her mouth, quickly.” He expressed as he floated over. Janna quickly managed to get Lisna’s mouth open and Vel’Koz poured the liquid into her mouth, carefully. Almost immediately Lisna started to move, and Lux readied her baton, but quickly found it would be unnecessary. Lisna took the glass from Vel’Koz and drank the rest herself. Once she was done, she looked up.

 

           “You didn’t have to do that, you know. I was perfectly happy with my fate.” She said, leaning back into the chair.

 

           “We know, but something told me that if we did, then we would regret it. Also something tells me you won’t go back.” Lux said, trying to keep her voice strong but it faltered a bit. Lisna turned to her, and after a moment smiled.

 

           “I won’t. They don’t get it and in just the two days I’ve been here, oh you might want to send someone to the designer’s hotel room as I sort of drained her energy. But back to the point. This world is rich with life, and I can see why you stayed. Not to mention why you would fight to defend it. I can’t fight right now, but I can help. Not to mention there is a whole fashion world out there that I want to explore.” Lisna relaxed back into the chair and Lux relaxed as well.

 

           “Well then, in that case, welcome to Runeterra.” Lux held out her hand, and Lisna shook it, after pulling the needles on her hand back.

 

           “For now, you can stay here and recover, but I doubt Malzahar will let you go easily. I have few other rooms down here that can serve as your quarters if you choose to stay.” Vel’Koz told Lisna who just nodded.

 

           “I think I can find an apartment or something in the city. I don’t want to intrude. Besides, I’m sure there is a reason none of you have powered down. Don’t by the way. The less I know the better. Besides I can take a more normal appearance easily. But not right now.” Lisna added quickly as she almost topped over trying to stand and change form again.

 

           “If that is what you wish. I have ample supplies of void energy here if you need it.” Lisna just nodded, leaned back in the chair, and was quickly asleep. Vel’Koz motioned to Lux, Janna, and Poppy to follow him, and they all headed to the tower. Once inside, turned to the group but before he could say anything, Lux asked the question on everyone’s mind.

 

           “So how much energy do you take?” Lux asked. Vel’Koz could tell she was a bit angry, but he just smiled one of his eye smiles.

 

           “Almost nothing. If you spread it out and only take a small amount from everyone, it isn’t that bad. The average person who walks through here will be tired about a minute before they would normally. I modified the collector to do that. I don’t target the staff for obvious reasons, and I have a reserve of almost 50 years’ worth of energy. I have also almost perfected the refining process.” Lux, Janna, and Poppy just looked at him with inquisitive looks on their faces.

 

           “I should explain a bit more. The process Malzahar uses is very old and unrefined. He gets about 1 unit of void energy, to quantify it, for every 3 energy he puts in. It is old, inefficient, and that is why he needs such large amounts of energy. My process is about 1.1 energy to void energy. Also with the recent void attacks, and the void energy left behind has given me that massive stockpile. Once I actually take the time to refine it a bit, I will have enough void energy for about 300 years. For reference it takes about 1 unit of void energy a day, give or take, to sustain us but we can go up to 5 without it. After that, coma and well you can see where that is going to lead.” Vel’Koz just let that sentence hang in the air.

 

           “I also knew Lisna, and if she says she won’t go back, she won’t. Her passion was always fashion and if she found something, then she will keep going at it. I doubt she would betray any of us. However, she also wants to know as little as possible. The fact you communicate with me is obvious enough now so there is no point in hiding it from her.”

 

           “Well that solves that question. I guess we should have…” Lux started to say, but Vel’Koz cut her off.

 

           “You already knew the answer. All of you did. After all, how could I have survived all of these years?” He ended it with the question, but eventually got the response he was looking for as all three just nodded. “You don’t owe me anything. I owe you all, and this planet more than I can ever repay. I predict that someday I will leave, but not for a while.”

 

           “Well then, let’s get back to work.” Poppy started walking towards the door as she finished talking.

 

           “Um…Poppy, shouldn’t we wait for Lulu?” Poppy stopped just short of the door and nodded. She powered down, Lux and Janna followed, and they sat around the table waiting for Lulu.

* * *

 

           Lulu watched the rest of the team drive off, confident in Lux’s decision, but there was still something bothering her. Reentering the Institute, Lulu began looking for what was calling to her. She looked in all of the areas they had been starting with the Auditorium. As she was finishing her search, Caitlyn walked in, clearly surprised to see her still there.

 

           “I figured you all would have been gone by now. What’s keeping you here?” She asked as she walked down the main aisle. Lulu turned to meet her.

 

           “I’m not sure. Something I felt during the fight. The rest took off but I need to have my answer.” Lulu just ended it there and left the auditorium, leaving Caitlyn just standing there.

 

           “Well she’s the weird one then.” Caitlyn said to no one in particular as she headed back outside, confident that the situation was contained.

 

           Lulu followed the path they had taking during the chaotic end of the fight, and even the path Poppy followed but nothing reached out to her. Lulu however didn’t let it bother her since she knew it was here somewhere. As she entered the large room where the chase ended, she felt it again. “It’s here.” She said to herself and she quickly began looking all over the room for what was calling her, but to no avail. Then the remembered what Kog’Maw had stolen. Quickly running back outside, Lulu found Caitlyn talking to another woman. Lulu just waited patiently until Caitlyn noticed her.

 

           “Something else?” Caitlyn asked.

 

           “Where is the director for the Institute?” Lulu asked, looking between the two. The other woman just nodded.

 

           “I am. Why?” She asked, now a bit nervous. Lulu just turned on her heal and headed back inside.

 

           “I think you had better follow her.” Caitlyn said and the director sprinted off after the Guardian. She finally caught up to her in the main exhibit hall. Lulu was standing next to an empty pedestal.

 

           “What was the origin of the boots that were here? The void creature took them and we don’t know why.” Lulu said as she turned back to the director. The director just walked over and pulled out her phone.

 

           “Ok one second. Exhibit 48201. Hmm. We don’t have much unfortunately. It was a pair of boots discovered after the First Void War. They were well crafted and it would be unusual for someone who owned a pair like it to just leave them. We have been looking for information on them for years, but nothing has come up. The information is on our website. Is there anything else?” The director looked around only to see Lulu leaving. But she returned just as quickly.

 

           “Thanks.” Lulu said before disappearing for good. Lulu quickly made her way back to the tower, and while she could feel Lisna’s presence, it was like Vel’Koz now, more warming than outright cold. As she entered the tower, she noticed the rest of the team was waiting for her. Lulu powered down and moved over to join them.

 

           “So what did you wait for?” Janna asked as Lulu sat down and took a long drink of water.

 

           “Something bothered me about the fight, but I couldn’t figure it out. So I had to stay and get my answer. I noticed it was coming from the boots Kog’Maw stole. I asked the director about them but she didn’t know much. The information about them is on their website. Exhibit 48201.” Vel’Koz quickly made note of the number and headed off to do his own research. “So what happened with Lisna?” Lulu turned the conversation.

 

           “She’s resting for now, but I see a future fashion queen in her. She’s going to stay and even Vel’Koz is confident that she won’t betray us.” Janna said. Lulu just looked happy and leaned back in her chair, and quickly zoned out. Lux just rolled her eyes, grabbed another cookie, and sat back as well. The rest of the team soon followed and they enjoyed the post battle relaxing quiet.

* * *

 

           While things for the guardians were calm, for Kog’Maw it wasn’t. Malzahar was furious that he came back with almost nothing and promptly made his displeasure known.

 

           “You have failed miserably.” Kog’Maw whined for a bit before he managed to get a word in edgewise.

 

           “I didn’t fail completely Great Prophet.” Kog’Maw pulled the boots out and Malzahar’s expression changed.

 

           “Well you didn’t, but we need more energy, not less. Our reserves are extremely low and if we don’t get relief soon, it won’t be good. Plan your next attack better.” Malzahar moved away but turned back.

 

           “Get me my cloak. You will find it near the spot that the portal first opened. With the anniversary coming up, it will be a fine time to attack. They will be expecting it, but as long as you come back with enough energy, you are fine.” Malzahar now finally moved off and Kog’Maw breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly left and made his way back to his room to plan his next attack. With energy being the priority, he had to think carefully about how to attack.

 

           In his private quarters, Malzahar looked at the reserve supply of void energy through the window, and it was lower than he’d ever seen it. “Curse those guardians. They will pay.”


	26. Move in Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Kog’Maw got away with his prize in the last attack, the energy he was able to get was next to nothing. While neither Kog’Maw or Malzahar knew of Lisna’s betrayal, one thing they desperately needed was energy, and fast.

           Malzahar looked at the amount of energy they had stored and knew that it was extremely low, and a lot lower than he was comfortable. Kog’Maw had accomplished one of his objectives with the last attack, but he also failed in the other, which was now the more critical one. They needed energy and they needed it fast. Malzahar floated out and found Kog’Maw looking at the portal site with interest. He also noticed Kha’Zix and Cho’Gath there.

 

           “The security will be very intense. I doubt they will ignore our little traitor and he will probably sweep for devices and anything else. The attack will have to be sudden if you are going to get anything.” Kha’Zix said as he looked over what was already in place.

 

           “My concern is securing Malzahar’s cloak. With the boots and the attack to try and get the scepter, did we ever figure out what happened with that? Anyway, it will be blatantly obvious to the guardians what is going on. All they would have to do is talk to any mage on their planet, and our plans will be obvious.” Cho’Gath was pacing back and forth as he also was looking, but the animosity that he usually treated others with was gone. Clearly hunger does strange things to people.

 

           “What happened” Malzahar made his presence known and the rest of them jumped about 5 feet into the air, “is that Vel’Koz did something that I didn’t expect. He sealed that case with light magic. The same magic that the guardians use when they fight us. We would need one of them to break it open, and I doubt that will happen anytime soon.” Malzahar finished speaking and floated over to the table where the rest were looking. “What is your progress on planning an attack?”

 

           “Mixed Prophet. With the level of security, we have determined that only a hard fast attack will succeed. However, we will have to risk almost everything we have left in order to accomplish our objective. Basically we don’t succeed, we will be at a point we haven’t been since we breached the veil.” Kog’Maw slowed down and dropped his voice more and more as he talked, knowing that their already desperate situation was about to get either better, or a lot worse. Malzahar looked between the three of them and knew they were all in agreement.

 

           “Is there no other option?” Malzahar asked as he looked around, clearly a little desperate for something else. The looks all three returned showed they had explored many options. “Very well then, what is needed?” Cho’Gath and Kha’Zix turned to Kog’Maw, who stopped eating long enough to explain.

 

           “Our plan is to force open multiple void portals and flood the area with Zzs. I have Koea exploring the site now for good positions. Then while Koea keeps the guardians distracted, Kha’Zix here harvests energy, I secure your cloak, and we make away with as much as we can. The point is to overwhelm them. We were hoping to get Rek’Sai, but she is still recovering.” Kog’Maw finished speaking, and even Cho’Gath noticed the pride in his voice. While they had all worked on it, the pipsqueak needed everything he could get right now.

 

           “I will assist you then with distracting the guardians. Koea could lead the energy collection teams.” Malzahar finished, but they all looked at him with a glance. “What?” Kog’Maw looked to Kha’Zix, who in turned looked at Cho’Gath, who just nodded.

 

           “Prophet, we would request that you stay here. In the past your help is appreciated, but we have everything planned out right now, and adding an additional element at this point would only complicate the situation. We could honestly use more of your help on this side conjuring the portals and receiving the orbs. Which is what we were about to ask.” Cho’Gath readied himself, and while he raged internally, Malzahar could only express satisfaction that they had come up with a way for him to help, while remaining out of the line of fire. Malzahar calmed the rage inside of him and finally nodded.

 

           “Very well, if that is what your plan calls for, then I will help in that manner. Let me know when you are ready to proceed.” Malzahar floated out of the room, and the three remaining voidlings breathed a sigh of relief. Once they were sure Malzahar was out of earshot, Kha’Zix finally spoke up.

 

           “I didn’t think that was going to work.” Kog’Maw and Cho’Gath just nodded in agreement.

 

           “Well at least we got him to agree to do something he is good at. In a battle like that, he would just be a target, and one that we couldn’t heal easily if we failed.” Cho’Gath said, also with a tone of relief in his voice. “Kog’Maw get ready because this day will be our hardest yet.” Kog’Maw just nodded and after grabbing another snack, he walked out to the Zz pens and began sorting them.

* * *

            On Runeterra, Lux was paying attention to the front of the room while Janna took notes. Lux twirled her baton in her free hand while Poppy and Lulu were keeping a careful eye around, and taking notes of their own. Lux did have a pad in front of her, but she was more listening and with how the team worked, they all did their own thing and it somehow worked out.

 

           “The odds of an attack here are extremely high, especially with the new information we have been given. I am unlocking the void vault and all officers will be equipped with void counter weapons. Just know that they will only drain your energy if they get close to you. You all have a map of the positions and where things will be. Memorize it because that is not to leave this room. Now for who we are facing.” Caitlyn finished talking and motioned to Lux, who got up and headed across to the front of the room, followed by Janna.

 

           Lux just waved her baton over the boards in the front and an image of Kog’Maw appeared, along with a few other notes. ‘I’m so glad we discovered how to do this.’ Lux thought to herself before she took a deep breath and turned to the mass of police officers in front of her, which included her father.

 

           “This is Kog’Maw, Malzahar’s latest leader to try and draw energy from our planet. We again believe Malzhar’s ultimate intention is to reopen the void portal and draw energy directly from the void. One of the newest pieces of information we have is that Malzahar is running extremely low on void energy and after consultation with Vel’Koz, he is desperate.” Lux made to continue but was interrupted.

 

           “Sorry but what is the source of this information? We are just supposed to trust you?” Lux opened her mouth to reply to the officer, but Vi cut her off.

 

           “Tell me you haven’t seen what they haven’t done for our city and our planet? Please tell me you haven’t! If they have a source of information, had this been a few months ago, I would be looking at it with the same suspicion, but with everything they have done, I can’t. I trust them, and their source.” Vi just glared at the officer, who just sank into his chair a little more.

 

           “Thank you. We don’t want to reveal the source of our information, but we trust it, and we have little reason to not trust it. With Malzahar’s attack on the barriers surrounding our planet a short time ago, he used up more energy than we initially calculated. And on top of that, he hasn’t collected much since. We can guess he’s running out, and running out fast.” Janna finished, and the officer who spoke up only sank further. Lux took a brief look at her father, and he had that ‘I told you so” face she knew well.

 

           “We except this attack to be large so you all need to be prepared for anything. We will be doing our best, but the bottom line is we are likely to be overwhelmed no matter what we do. We will do everything we can, but our primary focus is to stop them from getting as much energy as possible.” Lux finished and the officers, well most of them nodded in agreement. They all recognized that despite the fact the Guardians were clearly teenagers, they knew what they were talking about. Lux breathed a sigh of relief as she and Janna headed back to their chairs and sat down. Caitlyn stood back up.

 

           “Good. Now that we are all on the same page”, she shot the officer another glance and this time he was so low, it was curious how he wasn’t on the floor, “get some sleep. Two days from now is likely to be a very busy day.” The officers took one last look at their maps, and filed out. Once they were all gone, Lulu and Poppy moved to the door and Janna moved to the window. Caitlyn turned to Lux. “Any progress?’

 

           “No. We are still unsure why Kog’Maw took those boots as no one can find any information on them. If we had any idea, we would have said something. Clearly there is some motive, but we are still unsure.” Lux kept her voice confident, but let a bit of annoyance sneak in. Caitlyn just nodded.

 

           “Well then, maybe there will be something that happens during this attack, or likely attack, that will put the pieces together.” Lux just nodded and she and the rest of the team, grabbed their cloaks, and headed out to where Nasus was waiting, concealed far enough away.

 

           “I am worried that there are still things they don’t know.” Vi expressed to Caitlyn.

 

           “I am as well, but we can’t dwell on that. They are being more open than what I read about the last team, so we should be thankful. And besides, when have the motives of someone like Malzahar ever been clear? There’s always a plan within a plan, within another plan.” Caitlyn kept her voice neutral as she had found respect for the Guardians, despite everything.

 

           “I guess you’re right. At least I can still punch things then.” Vi finished and both of them couldn’t hold it in anymore. They both burst out laughing and then they made their way back to their offices.

 

           In the van, Lux was still going over the few notes she took, and making notes on Janna’s page, with what she observed. They were all passing around notes and comparing everything. Nasus would have liked to talk, but he saw that this wasn’t the right time. When they got back to the museum, they headed into the living quarters basement where Lisna and Vel’Koz were.

 

           “Oh good, that’s over with.” Vel’Koz turned as the team entered and Lisna looked up from a map of the portal site. “We’ve been able to determine some points where they will probably open up portals.” Vel’Koz pointed to several points on the map. “Every year the ceremony is the same, but for the first time, we will actually have Guardians. That is what we were about to talk to you four about.” Vel’Koz turned to Lisna.

 

           “Right. I’m not here to help in the manner you are thinking of. I’ve been told that I’m still too weak to fight, and for once I’m not going to argue. However, I am here to give you four a bit of a “costume” of sorts for the ceremony. Now that I’ve had a chance to really see what you all wear, I like it, however even you four can agree that a projection of confidence, even if everyone knows is a facade, can’t hurt anything.” Lux looked at the others and they all just nodded. “Right then, let’s get started.” “Right then, let’s get started.”

 

           Lisna began taking measurements of the four, which took a surprisingly short amount of time, and then she disappeared into a room. “Well, that will keep her occupied for the rest of the day.” Vel’Koz said as he nodded towards the door, and they all made their way to the tower with Nasus grabbing the plans as they left. “One thing that I’ve noticed about her is that she does seem to be more interested in fashion than anything. I don’t think we have anything to worry about with our plans being betrayed.”

 

           “Good.” Poppy said as she powered down, followed by the others. Vel’Koz laid out the map again and they all looked it over again. They knew that this was too good of a target to resist and Malzahar would attack. Maybe he would even show himself again. Dorcha hopped onto the map and turned to look at the four.

 

           “With you four on the stage, you will be front and center if anything should happen. Honestly, it is again going to be about preventing them from getting away with as much energy as possible. They will want a lot of it, but as we have seen lately, their actions seem to have an ulterior motive, so we have to be careful and watchful of what else they are doing.” The team just nodded at Dorcha as she smiled. “Well then, I suggest everyone go home as tomorrow will be an annoying day, but the following one, will be nothing but chaos.

 

           As the team filled out, Lux noticed Janna not leaving, so she turned back and joined her at the table. “What’s up?” Lux asked, keeping her voice upbeat. Janna just looked at her and shook her head.

 

           “It’s just the feeling I had the other day.  I can’t get it out of my head, and I doubt that I will anytime soon. I need to find out who our last teammate is and the fact whoever they are goes to my school, will annoy me to no end.” Janna just put her head into her arms, which were already on the table in frustration. Lux put her hand on Janna’s, who looked up.

 

           “We’ll find them, but for now, you need to focus on this.” Lux kept her voice compassionate, and understanding, as she was trying to keep the frustration out of her voice as well. Janna just nodded, stood up, grabbed her bag, then followed Lux out. As they walked home, both were quiet as there was not much more to be said and as they parted, they just nodded at each other.

 

           Walking into her home, Lux saw her father on the couch, clearly not in a mood to talk. Lux looked around to see Garen at the table, and her mother was nowhere to be seen. “Oh Lux you’re home. Please come here.” Lux turned to her father and sat down on the recliner. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to not go the anniversary events in two days?” Lux just shook her head.

 

           “You know it’s extra credit for me, and why?” Lux changed her voice from upbeat to curious as she spoke because her father rarely asked favors, so she faked curiously even though she knew the real reason.

 

           “Just a feeling the entire force has. There will likely be another attack on it, and well…” He just let his voice trail off and Lux nodded.

 

           “I’ve already made plans to go with friends. If there is any trouble, I’m sure we will get out of there before anything really goes to crazy.” Lux kept her voice upbeat and stood up, heading to her room.

 

           “That is what I was afraid you would say.” Lux heard her father mutter as she headed up the stairs. Lux was now very concerned because he might do something that would result in two options. First is she would have to “stay home” with Garen standing watch, or she would have to be with Garen at the event. Either way, she would have to knock him out or distract him enough to transform and then deal with the void.

 

           “Well there is a bright side.” Solas hopped out of Lux’s pack and seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. Lux just looked at him with a ‘what are you talking about’ glance. “We could always talk and he would probably pass out from shock.” Lux couldn’t help but laugh at that. Dorcha, who was about to hop out of Lux’s pack was now back in it laughing as well, while Solas chucked at his own joke. Lux just pulled her homework out of her bag and set it down to begin working. No more than five minutes later, it was scattered on the floor behind her as she started playing games because she couldn’t focus on that kind of work.

 

           Dinner at Janna’s house also revolved around the upcoming events. “Janna you have to understand why we are concerned, but are you sure we can’t talk you out of going?” Her father asked. Janna just shook her head.

 

           “I’ll be careful dad.” Janna just gave them both a reassuring smile and they just sighed.

 

           “You were already determined, and a bit of a hard head.” Janna threw a punch at her father, which he dodged. That broke the tension as they all laughed and Janna turned the TV on to the news.

 

           Poppy meanwhile was avoiding all talks of the upcoming events as her parents knew she was going, and they weren’t going to talk her out of it. “Just be careful” was their advice and Poppy had repeatedly mentioned she was going to be. They spent the evening just watching TV and Poppy relaxing in her room.

 

           Lulu meanwhile had no issues with trying to go as her parents knew better than to try and talk her out of it. Lulu always noticed this guilty look on her parent’s faces every time they tried to talk her out of something. She knew the reason of course, their constant moving had prevented her from having a normal childhood, but the fact she had still managed to find friends, along with her mother putting her foot down and saying this was the last time, had helped her, Lulu still was a free spirit. ‘If only they knew.’ Lulu thought to herself more than once, but she knew that saying anything would cause more problems. Instead they, like the rest of the parents, just cautioned their daughter to be careful and Lulu just nodded in reply.

 

           As evening turned to night, the team settled in for what was going to probably be a restless, or a restful night’s sleep.

* * *

 

           Kog’Maw was impressed with the level of security that was around the event site. Even if he knew they would do no good, it was how they carried themselves that worried him. Like they knew something he didn’t. As Kog’Maw kept looking around Koea showed up beside him. “What do you have to report?”

 

           “Well sir, they have unusual weapons. I couldn’t get a close look, but I doubt it will make a difference. I still believe our attack will be good, but I would suggest a harder initial wave or we might be bogged down. I am also worried about the Guardians and where they will be. If they are anywhere near that stage, we will have even more issues. I would suggest moving portals 4 and 5 to these locations instead of behind the stage. Portal 6 can remain there.” Kog’Maw looked over the whole site again, and nodded.

 

           “Very well then. Now where is my snack bag?” Kog’Maw reached into his bag with his tongue and it was empty. “Great, we need energy fast.”

 

           “We will get it sir.” Koea was confident, but Kog’Maw wasn’t. He knew that the Guardians would be distracted enough to allow him to accomplish his other objective, but this whole thing was still a massive gamble.

* * *

 

           The day before the anniversary events passed by quickly as the team spent the day in school, but almost no one was paying attention so eventually most of the teachers gave up and let students talk. They all knew what tomorrow might bring, but that wasn’t going to stop them from going, even in the current climate of attacks. It was more for defiance than anything, but Lux, Janna, Poppy, and Lulu knew that tomorrow would only bring chaos.

 

           After school let out, they all headed to the tower and after a few minutes, transformed and headed into Vel’Koz’s personal quarters where Lisna had been busy for about a day now with crafting outfits for them. Upon entering, they were all surprised at how elegant they were. The looked more like robes, but they all matched their current outfits in terms of bows, and colors. Janna took a closer look, and saw that if a fight broke out, they wouldn’t need to ditch them as Lisna had designed them apparently if that became the case. Janna nodded in approval and stepped back with the others.

 

           “Glad to see you all like them. I tried to match your outfits as best as I could like but make them more like the mages of old. Long flowing robes, but unlike those, you can still fight in these. I have segmented the skirts to allow for movement, and made sure they were a little high so you don’t step on them. What I’ve also done is weave these into the fabric.” Lisna held out some fibers and Lux took them. Instantly she felt a cold, but it wasn’t a bad cold, like a crisp breeze on a warm day.

 

           “What are they?” Lux asked, handing them around.

 

           “Void fiber, with a few modifications. I am the only one who can weave it. It is from void energy and it does two things. First it shields one from damaging effects of the void, and cools them down in hot temperatures. However, I modified these with a bit of energy that Vel’Koz hadn’t processed yet so the cold factor doesn’t blast you all. Though I’m sure you noticed it is still a bit potent.” They all just nodded. “But what the energy binding managed to do is remarkable. It not only gives these things tensile strength beyond anything I could have imagined, but it also shields you against void attacks. Granted you can’t wear these all the time, but if you ever have a big battle, you might be able to make use of them.” Lisna just looked around as the team looked on with some rather astonished looks. Finally, Janna broke the silence.

 

           “That is remarkable. Well I guess there is nothing left but to try them on.” Janna made a move, but Poppy stopped her.

 

           “I just want to see something.”

 

           “It isn’t padded you know.” Lisna said as Poppy pulled her outfit down carefully and laid it out on the table. She took her hammer, and placed it at one end while she grabbed the other. Lisna just shook her head. “You are going to regret that.” Poppy just smiled.

 

           “Well then I will.” Poppy pulled as hard as she could but eventually she lost her grip and fell to the floor. The outfit wasn’t even ripped, stretched, or even slightly torn. “I am impressed.” Poppy took a minute to put it on fully and then tested its range of moment. “I have to admit, this is honestly pretty good. The rest of the team moved as well and they all found them to be the same. Not limiting on freedom of movement, but also almost as light as a feather.

 

           “I’m glad. One other nice thing about these, is while I know draining your energy is hard for Malzahar, with these, he can’t even touch it. Now I am going off to my apartment where I’m working on my own designs. If you ever need them repaired, or when you find your fifth teammate, let me know, but I doubt you will ever need to get them fixed, just one more.” With that Lisna left, and the rest turned to Vel’Koz.

 

           “You didn’t tell us she got an apartment.” Poppy said as she removed the outfit and placed it back on the stand.

 

           “I wasn’t going to. She was adamant that she get out of here and while she knew she could stay, she wanted the freedom that I enjoyed. I keep her supplied with void energy, but she doesn’t need it that often and I have to admit, she is happier than I’ve ever seen her. Even before the First Void War.” Vel’Koz dropped his void as the team looked at him.

 

           “Have a crush Vel?” Lux asked, now struggling to contain her laughter.

 

           “No.” Vel’Koz shot back, but everyone could see him blushing. “Ok maybe a bit. I’ve never seen anyone else walk away, especially one walk away voluntarily. It takes real effort for someone to do that. I mean, I didn’t have much of a choice when I got left behind but I also found a way for myself, I hope she does as well.” Vel’Koz just backed off at that point as the team powered down once they were sure that Lisna was out.

 

           “Hopefully tomorrow won’t be as bad as we all hope.” Lux said, but looking around, she knew that no one else shared the sentiment, but it was worth saying none the less. As the team looked over the final details for tomorrow, they all realized just how bad this could get, and how quickly everything could get bad. Lulu didn’t seem to be paying attention, but she was paying attention in her own way. As Poppy took a lot of careful notes, Janna kept looking everything over looking for anything they might have overlooked, and Lux just looked between everyone knowing tomorrow would be chaos, one way or the other. After an hour, Lux just spoke up.

 

           “Ok everyone, I think we should all just go home and get ready for tomorrow. We are just looking for something to do.” Everyone just looked around at her and nodded. Lux was the last to leave as she watched Janna, Poppy, and Lulu leave. When they all got home, they were quick to eat and get some sleep, because the next day would be nothing but chaos on chaos.

* * *

 

           As Koea looked over the final preparations with Kog’Maw, they looked at everything carefully and knew that if anything went wrong, they would be in trouble. There would be too many things for them to control at once, so getting energy was the most important factor, and Malzahar’s cloak would be secondary.

 

           “Is everything ready?” Kog’Maw asked turning to Koea.

 

           “As best as we can make it. We just have to wait for the right moment.”

 

           “Then let us conserve our energy and be ready for tomorrow.” Kog’Maw finished, ripped open a portal, and they both disappeared.

* * *

 

           The following morning saw the team waking up and gathering together to proceed to the portal site. However, one thing they noticed quickly was that Janna wasn’t there, and Lux, Poppy, and Lulu transformed, put on their outfits, and headed to the site. They found Janna there, ready, but looking over the site. Lux came up behind but made sure she was heard. “You ok?” Lux asked as she sat down beside Janna.

 

           “Just old memories, some of which I still can’t remember.” Janna looked down at her feet as she spoke and the rest of the team came over. Lux, Poppy, and Lulu sat around Janna and offered some comfort while they waited and watched people start to stream into the event. The stage was near where the portal was and they knew that they would be standing around there. Finally, about half an hour later, there were enough people there for them to wander around, which is what they agreed to while they were waiting for the actual ceremony to start.

 

           All of them found it odd to be walking around with people they knew, but they couldn’t acknowledge them or interact with them. Lux saw Amy and a lot of her friends, but unless they approached her, Lux knew to keep a distance. Lux kept her baton in her hand, and many people parted to give her enough room to move around. Janna was able to use her staff to give her some room, but also the fact she was slightly floating off the ground didn’t hurt either. Poppy and Lulu, being yordles, already had a disadvantage, but with Poppy’s hammer, and Lulu’s staff, they were able to avoid being stepped on.

 

           They all kept a careful eye on the police scattered around, and Lux even spotted Debonair in the crowd, which wasn’t hard. He however, seemed to pick up on the overall plan, and carefully kept out of sight until things went crazy. Janna was more concerned with people in the rather confined area of the history of the site, where there were limited entrances, and few escape routes. Poppy was just walking around keeping an eye out, and more than one person tried to pick up her hammer, and Poppy just laughed as no one could. Lulu was just in her own world as she wandered around and kept observing people.

 

           There were a lot of things that all four of them were observing, like the fact people were still there, even with the overwhelming evidence there would be an attack during the vent. Lux was more than ready to defend everyone, but also knew that should something break out, the panic would just cause utter chaos. Just when it seemed like the attack would begin, Janna came up to Lux and nodded towards the stage. The whole team made their way up as people crowded into the area for the annual event.

 

           As Lux led the team onto the stage, the mass of people just got silent. Lux looked around and saw Caitlyn, Vi, the Mayor, and other city officials there. The four of them took their seats as the Mayor stood up to begin. Lux knew this as she had been here the previous year, but it was a very different perspective seeing it from up here.

 

           “Every year many of us gather here to remember the horrors of the Void Wars. Now we seem to be in another one. Yet I have never seen this city so united, so determined, and ready to deal with anything that life seems to throw at them. In the past, we lost not so much, but this city grew out of tragedy, loss, and heartbreak. People came from all over Runeterra to live, work, and make a life here.” Lux just lost interest in the speech and kept a close watch on the surrounding crowds. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary apart from people trying to get a better view one way or the other.

 

           Just when it seemed the mayor hit a part of his speech that was the big draw, Lux felt a shiver run down her spine. Looking to the rest of the team, they all felt it as well. “Well here we go.” Lux whispered to herself and the team took to their feet. Caitlyn and Vi clearly were waiting, but then they all heard something behind them.

 

           “Get down!” Lux yelled and quickly threw a singularity behind the stage, where a large void portal had opened and Zzs were streaming out of it. Caitlyn and Vi quickly removed the government officials and ordered their officers to begin the evacuation. It wasn’t long however before there were more sounds of scuffles and Lux looked up to see multiple void portals opening.

 

           “Great, just when you think this couldn’t get any worse.” No sooner had the words left Lux’s mouth than she saw Kha’Zix leaping right towards here. Lux threw a binding, which he dodged, but missed Poppy charging in from the side and pinning him against the stage. “Deal with him.” Lux ordered Poppy, who just nodded while she saw Lulu could keep the Zzs behind the stage contained, Lux saw her graceful movements and raw power as she kept up a series of attacks to keep the portal contained.

 

           Lux quickly moved to another one where officers were using their void weapons to keep Zzs from flooding out of it. Vel’Koz was there providing some support. Looking around again, Lux saw that Kog’Maw had his minion positioned on one of the small hills around the site, and he had already drawn a large amount of energy, if the orbs behind him, which Kog’Maw was quickly throwing through a portal, and the amount of people on the ground were to believed. Lux was about to move towards him, when Debonair fired an energy pulse and Janna moved to help him.

 

           “Great we go from one battle to seven.” Lux muttered to herself and moved off towards a choke point where several portals converged and after seeing Nasus tying down another one, she knew that this would be nothing but chaos. Looking towards the other two portals, she quickly saw Zzs throwing orbs into them. “Oh no you don’t.” Lux threw a singularity and while she got a few orbs, many still made it through. The Zzs then turned on her. “Oh great.”

* * *

 

           Kha’Zix hopped again and managed to avoid another Poppy pin, but only just. Poppy however came around and managed to get a glancing blow with her hammer knocking the void assassin off of his path and into a pile of chairs. Reacting quickly, Poppy moved to try and get another hit, but Kha’Zix quickly dodged out of the way, only to jump into another pile of chairs. Poppy didn’t miss this time and Kha’Zix roared in anger and frustration. Kha’Zix was trying to bait out Poppy’s massive ground impact and send him to another fight, but it seemed that Poppy had figured that out as she avoided using it.

 

           “Come on guardian, aren’t you tired of this fight?” Kha’Zix taunted as he jumped at Poppy and slashed his blades, but only hit her shield and then got a hammer to the face for his troubles.

 

           “Oh so that’s what you want me to do. No I’m perfectly happy with this fight. Now how about we continue this dance.” Poppy charged, and while Kha’Zix managed to dodge, clearly Poppy had been expecting that and still managed to connect with her hammer. Kha’Zix lashed out and while most of his attack hit against Poppy’s armor, one of his blades managed to scratch her face. Poppy yelled in pain, but quickly recovered as she turned to prevent another attack, and could feel Kha’Zix’s claws against the fabric and armor on her back.

 

           “You know, someone really worked hard on that.” Poppy yelled as she brought her hammer around and it connected. Hard. Kha’Zix went flying and collided with a small horde of Zzs that Lulu had somehow managed to herd up, promptly detonating them. Lulu just looked for a second, before sending a glitterlance into more Zzs. Poppy managed to turn to get a good look at her back, and saw the fabric was not torn at all. “Well she was right about that.” She turned to see Kha’Zix getting back up and then turned to Lulu. Lulu nodded and sent Pix to help Poppy, and gave her a bit of a speed boost.

 

           Kha’Zix had just enough time to recover before he saw Poppy charging at him. “Hey ugly! Knock Knock!” Poppy swung her hammer, and the resulting impact sent Kha’Zix through the portal, which promptly slammed shut behind him. “Have a nice trip!” Poppy yelled as a goodbye. She turned and then quickly charged into the horde of Zzs that were now in front of Lulu.

* * *

 

           Lulu kept looking between Poppy and Kha’Zix, and the small horde of Zzs pouring out of the portal. Lulu kept moving around, using Pix to shield her, and attach to some of the larger Zzs and destroy some in the back. Also a few orbs that they had managed to collect. Lulu knew she couldn’t keep it up forever, but she also knew that this would be like this. “Zippy!” Lulu yelled as she sped herself up and sent a few bolts from her staff into the horde. Her Glittlerlances were being effective, but for every one she destroyed, another took its place.

 

           Knowing that she couldn’t destroy them all, Lulu quickly started to herd them into groups, before she unleashed her powers on them. Somehow she knew what to do, even though she really hadn’t faced Zzs before. Moving almost in a trance, Lulu made movements that were graceful and risky as she herded up a group, then unloaded her powers into them. The whole group was destroyed in a matter of seconds, and they were slow to be replaced.

 

           “Well looks like we found something that works. Now…” Lulu tuned to see something, and she noticed something in the crowd. Before she could get a closer look however, Pix squeaked, which brought Lulu back to reality, and she narrowly dodged a Zz trying to tackle her. “Hey that’s not nice.” Lulu expressed as she shot out a glittlerlance, vaporizing the Zz. Lulu took a breath and quickly regained her focus.  “Ok then.” Lulu said to herself as she once again began rounding up the Zzs again into large groups before unloading on them.

 

           Lulu quickly rounded up another group but before she could unload on them, Kha’Zix quickly fell into the middle of the group, destroying them. Lulu tuned to see Poppy, who nodded to her. Lulu nodded back, and sent Pix Poppy’s way and then gave her a speed boost, before she returned to the horde. Lulu had just finished destroying another group she herded up when she heard Poppy. “Hey Ugly! Knock Knock!” Lulu turned quickly to see Kha’Zix go flying through the open portal, which quickly closed behind him. “Have a nice trip!” Poppy yelled, before she turned and charged into the horde Lulu was still working on.

 

           Even though numbers were no longer being replenished, the Zzs still took some time as there were so many of them. Lulu kept moving Pix between Poppy and herself as the Zzs kept going after them both. Poppy was swinging her hammer almost wildly but taking out swaths of the horde, while Lulu was sending glitterlances everywhere. Eventually the horde was gone and Lulu quickly took off towards Vel’Koz, knowing that they were in real danger.

 

           “Thanks!” Poppy turned to see Lulu already running towards Vel’Koz and she just shook her head.

 

           “Sometimes that girl gives me a headache, and other times, she 5 steps ahead of the rest of us.” Poppy shouldered her hammer to join Lulu.

* * *

 

           Koea dodged yet another twister from Janna, as Debonair sent another energy pulse his way. Kog’Maw had quickly gotten as many orbs through the portal as possible before Janna and Debonair destroyed them and then jumped through himself, ready to implement the next part of the plan. Koea used his swords to hold the two off while Kog’Maw escaped. Once he was gone, Koea knew all he had to do was keep the two busy.

 

           “Ok then, come at me!” Koea yelled, and Debonair was quicker to reply than he counted on, and slammed his hammer into Koea’s side, knocking him to the ground. Debonair raised the hammer again to bring another large blow, but Koea rolled out and swung at Debonair with his swords, which only bounced off the armor he now wore. Janna looked quickly with concern, as the swords ran across his leg, but Debonair quickly pivoted on said leg and when Janna saw no bleeding or injury, she quickly threw him a shield and he just continued.

 

           Growing frustrated, Koea dived at Janna, who just wound up another twister and sent him into the air. Landing back on the ground, Koea quickly had to dodge out of the way of Debonair’s hammer, and some bolts from Janna’s staff. However, he didn’t get far as Zephyr clamped on and slowed him down. Debonair didn’t miss this time, but he sent an accelerated energy pulse this time which knocked Koea into the ground. Getting up, and using one of his swords as support, he quickly had to dodge out of the way again as Debonair decided to get close with his hammer, only to strike the ground.

 

           Koea again tried to slash Debonair with his swords, but only came into contact with Janna’s shield and then her twister as she charged up another one. Koea again landed hard while Debonair swung his hammer and sent him into a tree. Collapsing to its roots, Koea didn’t bother to try and move this time. “Now how about you stay down and stop moving!” Janna shouted as she and Debonair moved in. Koea just smiled

 

           “Fat chance.” Koea jumped up, arced over the two, and began running towards a portal that was recently opened. Debonair transformed his weapon, threw out his gates, took careful aim, and managed to hit Koea, but he took the shot, rolled, and managed to get through the portal, which closed behind him.

 

           “Well that sucks. Still what is going on?” Debonair turned to Janna, who just shrugged.

 

           “Our guess was to gather energy, but we also think something else is going on. Still looks like she needs help.” Janna pointed towards Lux, who was not having it any easier.

 

           “Seems like he could use some as well. Or not.” Debonair quickly added as he indicated Nasus, who was quickly joined by Poppy. “Let’s give her a hand then.” Janna nodded and the two quickly sprinted off towards Lux.

* * *

 

           Vel’Koz was now recalling why he didn’t like fighting. First it was a pain, second you rarely got out of it without scratches, but given the amount of portals, he had little choice. With the Guardians focusing on other portals, and Nasus going to close down another one, he was stuck with the police trying to keep the large one contained. While the void weapons that had been developed in the interim between the Second Void War and now were extremely effective, they had a flaw. There weren’t enough of them.

 

           “Do they ever stop?” Vi yelled as she charged though another line of Zzs trying to thin their numbers.

 

           “My guess, probably not.” Caitlyn expressed calmly, in only the way she could in the middle of a fight. Taking another shot with her rifle, she took out no less than 10 Zzs, only to have them be replaced shortly afterward. Caitlyn sighed and ducked down to reload a new magazine. While she was doing that, looking around, she saw that if they didn’t get some help soon, they would be in real trouble. Most of the officers with void weapons were here, the rest were either evacuating people, or had succumbed to the energy drain, which affected more than they were expecting it to. Caitlyn took a last look at Vel’Koz before she stood up again and resumed firing, and he was doing all he could to try and help, but it wouldn’t be enough soon.

 

           Vel’Koz kept opening rifts, throwing Disruptions, and using his plasma to try and stem the flow, but nothing was working. “Cover me.” Vel’Koz yelled, well in his way, and he moved behind the line of officers that were trying to keep the Zzs at bay. He carefully focused and knew that it was now or never. “Get down!”

 

           Every officer hit the deck as he opened up with his Ray, which promptly vaporized a huge chunk of Zzs, and crucially, it bought them some breathing room. Caitlyn looked up after Vel’Koz had collapsed to the field below him and nodded. “Why didn’t you open with that?” Caitlyn asked as she resumed firing.

 

           “Because I probably won’t be able to do it again.” Vel’Koz panted as he regained mobility and floated over to where he had been previously. Caitlyn just nodded, but she quickly shook her head as Vi charged across the field again. Sighing, Caitlyn kept taking shots, but the horde was beginning to swell again.

 

           “Well this is going to be a problem.” Caitlyn said matter of factly, but no sooner had the words left her mouth, then did a particularly large Zz jump out of the crowd and right at her. Caitlyn lined up the shot, but it quickly exploded. Looking around, Caitlyn saw two Guardians sprinting at them. “It’s about time.” Caitlyn said as Lulu and Poppy charged straight into the fight. With their added firepower, the Zzs started to thin and eventually Poppy managed to break off and go to assist Nasus. Lulu stayed and kept throwing glitterlances and moving Pix around to shield people and deal damage.

 

           “This is getting frustrating.” Vi yelled as she again charged across the field, but the horde wasn’t getting larger, so at least they were doing something right.

 

           “Just hold the line. It won’t be much longer.” Caitlyn ordered and everyone kept up the pace, and their concentrated fire was starting to make an impact.

* * *

 

           “All of this just for me then.” Nasus said as he moved towards the smallest portal to open and quickly threw a Spirit Fire on the ground in front of the portal. The first wave to emerge, quickly exploded. “Now what none of you know, is the more of you I destroy, the harder this hits!” Nasus charged his staff, and brought it down onto a Zz near his feet. Nasus kept going around with his staff, hitting Zzs, throwing down Spirit Fires, and generally disrupting the flow of Zzs as this seemed to be a portal just to fill space.

 

           While he was in control for the moment, he took a quick look around and saw several battles being waged and knew that his hope of reinforcements were thin, at least for the moment. Nasus did notice Lux by herself as he took down another Zz, but knew he couldn’t close this portal on his own. He could hold it back, but maybe someone could come help him once the rest are dealt with.

 

           “Well then, how about we all have some fun in the meantime” Nasus roared as he charged into a horde of Zzs, not really paying attention to the injuries he was taking but instead wiping out massive amounts of Zzs while seemingly to heal his injuries along the way. Nasus kept going after Zz after Zz but he knew sooner or later he would be overwhelmed. After destroying yet another small horde, he looked around and saw that while Poppy and Lulu had dealt with one portal, they had moved to help Vel’Koz and the group pinned down by the largest one. It was at that exact moment that a large Zz decided to try and aim for his head, and Nasus just hit it with his staff, causing it to disintegrate.

 

           “I can’t keep this up forever, but it seems like I have little choice.” Nasus said to himself and he turned back to the horde in front of him. “Well that’s just great.” No sooner had the words left his mouth than did something blue appear next to him.

 

           “Need a hand?” Poppy asked. Nasus just nodded and they both took off into the horde. It wasn’t long before it started thinning as Nasus and Poppy worked together to obliterate swaths of Zzs. The horde quickly changed tactics trying to overwhelm one of them, but they either couldn’t hurt Nasus enough, or keep Poppy pinned down enough for it to work. Eventually the horde wore so thin, that Poppy was able to get a clear shot at the portal, but before she could do anything, the portal closed.

 

           “Well that was fun.” Nasus was panting as he tried to regain his breath.

 

           “Yeah. But it’s still not over.” Poppy was panting as well as she looked around. Seeing Janna and Debonair over with Lux, Poppy pointed back to the large portal and Nasus nodded. They quickly set off towards it as it wasn’t looking good.

* * *

 

           “Well this could be going better.” Lux muttered to herself as she threw another singularity towards the approaching Zzs, destroying a number of them, however more just kept coming. Lux dodged out of the way of one trying to jump onto her and threw bolts from her baton to destroy another until she could generate another singularity. Throwing her binding would be useless since it wouldn’t catch enough for it to do any damage. Lux also knew that throwing her spark would lead to a massive reduction, but she knew that she had to save it in case something else popped up, which it always did.

 

           Lux dodged around yet another Zz trying to tackle her, and threw yet another singularity, detonating even more Zzs. The then threw her binding and blinding series of bolts from her baton and shredded even more of them. There were too many things going on for her to keep track of, and that was something that was bothering her. Lux could barely look around to get a sense of what was going on, but just her brief look around, before she had to throw more bolts at Zzs, told her that help was not coming any time soon.

 

           Diving out of the way again, Lux had to reposition again, but she had to keep the Zzs contained or they would overwhelm everyone else. As she kept moving around, eventually her luck ran out. A Zz, managed to get around her, and get a good hit on her leg. Lux threw a bolt to destroy it, but now her mobility was compromised and as much as she tried to keep moving like before, her leg wouldn’t let her. “Well this is just great.” Lux backed up a bit and threw another singularity, waiting to detonate it until she could get the most amount of Zzs with one shot. While it worked, it still didn’t stem the tide.

 

           As Lux tried to reposition for another shot, another Zz charged right at her. Lux threw up her barrier and while the Zz blew up on contacting with it, Lux saw the small horde that was approaching. Lux threw a binding, and then more bolts but it barely thinned the horde. Since backing up any further wasn’t an option, Lux focused and channeled her powers.

 

           “Final Spark!” Lux threw her Spark and it disintegrating a large horde and Lux was able to get some breathing room. Still limping a bit, she moved up a bit and then threw another singularity as more approached. Waiting again, she detonated it and destroyed even more. Lux carefully moved up again, and threw her binding, along with a series of bolts and destroyed more. Just when it looked like she was getting the upper hand, Lux saw another horde pouring out of the portals. Lux just hung her head, readied her stance, and prepared to try and defend everything.

 

           Just when the horde approached the choke point, Lux readied her singularity, but then a large energy pulse flew past her and shattered the horde approaching. Lux turned to see Debonair and Janna rushing towards her. Smiling, Lux threw her singularity at the choke point, and then her barrier around Debonair as he charged forward. Debonair transformed his weapon into hemmer mode, then slammed even more Zzs back. However, he missed something and a smaller group charged in behind him. Janna quickly moved into position and charged her Monsoon. The winds blew the Zzs into the rest of the horde, and blew that back.

 

           The rains healed Lux and Debonair, and Lux was able to put her full weight on her leg again. With the horde sorting itself out, Lux turned to Debonair and Janna. “Thanks. Your timing is great.”

 

           “No problem. We just need to seal those portals then move to the other big one.” Janna expressed as she pointed towards the horde that now included Vel’Koz, Nasus, Poppy, and Lulu. Along with the rest of the police that were still in the area.

 

           “Well I had to expend my spark, so it will be a bit before I can use it again. Any ideas?” Lux looked between Debonair and Janna.

 

           “Well we’ve seen that anything that goes through them, they tend to close them quickly. I say we push them back, then give Debonair time to charge up a shot, then he fires at each in turn.” Janna looked to Debonair and he nodded.

 

           “Seems like a good idea to me.” Debonair turned to look at the portals, then look around. “There. Give me a minute, and I’ll be able to shut one down.” Debonair pointed to a small hill nearby where he could get a good shot. Lux and Janna nodded and they moved into position to try and hold the horde back.

 

           “Just make it quick.” Lux yelled as Debonair quickly headed off to get into position. “Well then, let’s do it.” Lux and Janna moved into position to hold the line.

 

           On the hill, Debonair carefully look stock of the portals and his weapon. He knew that he would have one shot before they all rushed at him, but he also knew he couldn’t take forever. He knew the two Guardians couldn’t hold forever, but he also knew that it couldn’t be rushed. Taking his aim, he threw out his gates, and then charged the shot. Firing he then turned the weapon towards the horde and let off a few shots to help the Guardians. Turning back towards his shot, he just saw it connect and go through a portal. Instantly, both portals collapsed. “Well that was unexpected.”

 

           Returning to Lux and Janna, Debonair lined up and took shots at the horde, which since it was no longer begin replenished, the horde started to scatter. Lux, Janna, and Debonair eliminated the remaining Zzs, before they all gathered to get a quick breath.

 

           “Well, one more to go?” Janna asked, turning to Lux. Lux just nodded, and the three charged off towards the large portal.

* * *

 

           While their fire was having an impact, the size of the portal told everyone they were fighting a losing battle. Caitlyn looked around as she loaded up another magazine, and saw that while everyone was still shooting, or doing whatever they did, but it was still a losing battle. Just when it looked like the horde of Zzs would overwhelming, a circle appeared in front of them and Caitlyn turned to see Nasus and one of the Guardians charging towards them.

 

           “Better late than never.” Caitlyn said to herself. She brought her rifle to bear and began firing again. Poppy, Vi, and Nasus were charging through the horde, destroying swaths of Zzs, while Vel’Koz, Lulu, Caitlyn, and the rest of the officers were behind some cover and shooting what they could. They knew they had to get to the portal, but they had the problem of while it appeared they were now making progress, until they could actually get closer, they wouldn’t be able to hit it.

 

           “We are finally making a dent, keep it up!” Poppy yelled as she charged through the horde again, and it appeared she was right. There was a sense of morale increase as officers seemed to go from panicked, to more controlled. It was made better a few seconds later as energy pulses hit the horde. Lulu turned to see Lux, Janna, and Debonair running towards them. Debonair took a position on the line while Janna moved to help Nasus, Vi, and Poppy. Lux pulled Lulu aside.

 

           “We need to move them back just a little further and I can hit the portal with my spark.” Lux yelled over the entire chaos, but Lulu didn’t seem to be paying attention. “Green?” Lulu just pointed, and Lux looked over the cover to see Koea standing in front of the portal. “Just great. Everyone focus fire on the Zzs, we’ll handle that!” Lux yelled to everyone and Janna, Poppy, and Lulu followed her towards Koea, who separated himself from the horde. Now with fewer defenders, the horde started to increase again, but then it started to be pushed back.

 

           “Ok they are running out of things.” Caitlyn yelled over the racket. “Everyone forward!”

 

           Lux turned to Koea and the rest of the team surrounded him. Koea pulled his swords. “Ok then, this has gone on long enough. This is over. We are the Star Guardians. Sworn to defend the universe against all of those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you.” Koea just looked at Lux with a raised eyebrow, if you could call it that.

 

           “That’s it?” Koea said, and while he seemed to know an attack was coming, what he didn’t expect is Janna, Poppy, and Lulu all open up at once. Janna threw a twister, Poppy threw her buckler and charged forward, then Lulu threw a glitterlance. Koea dodged Lulu and Janna, but he didn’t expect Poppy to charge. He tried to jump out of the way, but Lux threw a binding and rooted him in place. Poppy charged and pinned Koea to the ground, then brought her hammer down on him.

 

           Lux looked around and then nodded. She pointed towards the portal, and it seemed to get the point across. Lux threw a singularity and Koea dodged it. Lulu threw a glitterlance, which he again dodged. Koea charged towards Lulu, but was intercepted by Poppy who pinned him again. Lux threw another binding, then focused her powers.

 

           “Final Spark!” Lux threw her spark, and it not only hit Koea, but it hit the portal as well, which quickly snapped shut. Lux collapsed to the ground, clearly exhausted, but when she lifted her head, she quickly saw that others were on the ground as well. Looking around more carefully, she saw the dust pike that was Koea, but she also saw just about everyone was on the ground.

 

           “Well it’s over. For now, at least.” Poppy managed to say after a few minutes. It was then they felt another rush of cold and they all looked around. Janna pointed towards one of the buildings hear the research site.

 

           “There!” The Guardians, and everyone else, quickly got back up and charged towards the building, but whatever happened had already happened. The place was clearly a storage warehouse and whoever had been in here was clearly looking for specific objects.

 

           “This was all a distraction then?” Poppy asked, looking around. Lulu was already wandering off, but it seemed like with a purpose.

 

           “It seems that way. Is there anyone still around who could tell us what is missing or what was in these crates?” Lux turned to Caitlyn and Vi. Vi nodded and headed outside. Caitlyn ordered some officers to stand near the door and rope it off. She then joined the Guardians in picking through what was gone.

 

           They had only been at it 5 minutes when Vi returned with one of the researchers. “Well this isn’t good.” Were the first words out of his mouth. Lux stood up from inspecting one of the ransacked crates and turned to him.

 

           “I know you are worried about everything, but we really need to know what was taken from these crates.” Lux tried to calm the researcher, who was clearly in a bit of a panic.

 

           “Young please. Now let’s see.” Young started looking around and he grabbed a device which clearly held the place’s inventory. “Crate 34, void objects recovered from the portal. Inert.” Lux didn’t like the sound of that and she saw Janna had managed to tfind a pad of paper and a pen and was taking notes. Lux was careful to keep close, but also so that if there was still something here, it could be fought quickly.

 

           “Next one, crate 173. Small glass orbs, unknown purpose. Amended: Void energy collectors.” Young moved onto the next one. “Crate 174. Small void device, unknown purpose.”

 

           “Can I see a picture of it?” A voice came from all around them, and they all turned to see Vel’Koz floating there. Young made a few taps on the screen and Vel’Koz turned a particular shade of purple. “It was a small energy collector. This is something for like a room. It is highly portable. Why wasn’t I contacted about this?” He turned to Young who just shrugged.

 

           “I can’t say sir, but I can check later. Let’s figure the rest out.” Vel’Koz just nodded in reply. “Crate 243. More collection spheres. Crate 284. More spheres.” It was then Lulu came around the corner holding another box, which had been burned open.

 

           “What about this one?” Lulu looked like she already knew the answer, but still. Young scanned it and he went pale. “What was it?” Lulu asked, her voice making a bit of an uptick, trying to keep things light.

 

           “Crate 2. Malzahar’s cloak.” Everything just clicked at that moment, and Lux just leaned against one of the racks.

 

           “That’s what this was about. Energy, but more importantly this. But why would Malzahar want his cloak back? It can’t help him can it?” Lux asked to no one in particular, it seemed like no one had a response, but then Vi came forward.

 

           “Do you have a way to make a video call from here?” She asked, her voice trying to stay calm.

 

           “Yes over here.” Young led the group to a room where it seemed like everything was being kept track of. He punched a few buttons on the keyboard and turned to Vi. “I’m sure you can figure it out from here.” Young turned to a second terminal and began typing. Vi made a few key punches, before the image showed a mage on the screen.

 

           “Professor Inda, sorry to disturb you during office hours, but I have a question that needs an immediate answer.” Vi’s voice was curt but respectful.

 

           “No problem. What can I help with?” Professor Inda seemed to be curious as to why she was contacted.

 

           “Well you know of the void attacks here?” The professor nodded. “Well we just had a theft here at the site. Malzahar, or someone close to him took his cloak. Now I seem to remember something about mages enchanting their clothing or armor. Am I correct or just wasting everyone’s time?”

 

           “No you are correct. Especially before the first void war, it was common practice for mages to enchant their clothing or armor with different things. It helped them channel their power, or help them keep up attacks and spells at a faster pace. Knowing about that article in particular, give me a minute here.” The Professor typed up a few quick things on her keyboard, and her face went grim. “Well it seems Malzahar was interested in power, and he enchanted his clothing to match. If he did take it back he is looking to increase his own power. I don’t know what happened to the rest of his clothing, but I can use my contacts to find out. I’ll forward the information to you Vi.”

 

           “Better forward it to Vel’Koz as well. I don’t know how to reach the four of you though.” Vi turned to the Guardians.

 

           “We’ll check in with Vel’Koz from time to time to see if he’s received it.” Lux said, clearly trying to keep the distance. Vel’Koz just nodded.

 

           “That is acceptable.”

 

           “Good. Thanks Professor, sorry to add to your workload.” Vi said reaching for the disconnect.

 

           “Don’t worry. I’m just grading paper after paper. This will be a welcome change. Good luck. All of you.” The Professor disconnected and Vi turned to everyone else.

 

           “Well that can’t be good.” Vi turned to Vel’Koz who was clearly thinking. Young had stopped tying, clearly finding an answer, but he seemed to know to wait.

 

           “If he corrupts it, then he could increase his power. This is not good. His scepter would have increased it a lot more, but every little bit helps. I will work on a few theories and I will get back to all of you as soon as I can.” Vel’Koz floated out of the building, followed by Nasus, who gave a small wink to the Guardians. Poppy blinked in response, and it seemed that no one else caught it.

 

           “I wish he had stayed because the answer isn’t good. The reason he wasn’t contacted is the researcher at the time didn’t trust him.” Young finished and sat back in the chair he was in.

 

           “Well that makes absolutely no sense. You have a source of information right there why not use it?” Caitlyn let a bit of anger into her voice and it surprised the Guardians, but Vi just rolled her eyes.

 

           “I don’t know ma’am, I’m just as surprised as you are.” Young stood up and headed out.

 

           “I will be looking into that. Now as for you four. I can’t thank you all enough. I hope nothing like this happens again, but clearly the plan was deception and work from the shadows. We did all we could. Hopefully you can locate the rest of Malzahar’s artifacts before he does.” Caitlyn gave a smile, then walked out.

 

           “What she said, but if this is what four of you can do, then when you get your 5th, I can’t wait to see how powerful you are. Good luck finding them.” With that, Vi walked out leaving the Guardians to think. Lulu turned to Lux.

 

           “Well it seems like we have a plan at least.” Lulu said, again somehow keeping her voice upbeat.

 

           “It seems so. Let’s get back to the tower from there, we can set a real plan in action.” Lux finished and everyone nodded. They all exited the building and past the cordon of officers all of whom looked like they were exhausted. The team could see ambulances arriving to treat those zapped of energy. Lux managed to spot both of her parents in the crowd and both of them were checking their phones. They both smiled and put them away. Clearly Dorcha and Solas were working their phones back at the tower to keep their parents off of them.

 

           “Come on, let’s go.” Janna whispered and the team took off towards the tower via several back routes. Once there, they entered via the roof hatch, and made their way to the first floor. Vel’Koz and Nasus were waiting for them, they all powered down and took a seat at the table. Dorcha and Solas were indeed working their phones as they saw them answering a few texts. They both looked up for a moment, and tossed each their phone in turn. Lux just saw messages from her parents, Garen, and Amy. Janna was just her parents and Garen. Poppy and Lulu just had their parents.

 

           “Now that you all are up to date, Professor Inda was able to get work done quickly. Those boots Kog’Maw took were indeed Malzahar’s. We don’t have locations on a number of artifacts, but we do know the number. Malzahar still has a bag, a book, and a set of robes that are still here on Runeterra. The robes will take time to locate, but the bag and book are somewhere in town. Now that we know what we are looking for we need to start looking.” Dorcha finished speaking and turned to Vel’Koz.

 

           “As for the attack today, I’m unsure how much energy they got off with, but my guess would be a lot. Malzahar will have to corrupt both the cloak and boots if they are to be of any use to him, however, I’m sure he has enough energy to do that now. All of you need to keep on watch as I’m unsure when he will attack next, or what he is going to go after. I’m going to search the library, because for all I know, I have the book here. I suggest you all go home and get some sleep.” Vel’Koz then looked out a window. “Even though it is only midafternoon.”

 

           The team just laughed and they all agreed to get going. Lux grabbed her bag and let Dorcha and Solas hop in. Janna let Zephyr hop up on her shoulder, while Pix continued to hover around Lulu. They all headed out together and walked as far as they could together.

 

           Once Lux got home, and texted everyone, she put her bag down and looked at Dorcha and Solas. “So the real war is just beginning isn’t it?” Lux asked, her voice low.

 

           “Seems that way Lux. Hopefully we can find the fifth Guardian quickly, because you can’t deal with another attack like that easily.” Dorcha said, her voice conforming in nature. Lux just hung her head.

 

           “I need a nap.” Lux didn’t even wait for a reply before falling onto her bed and collapsing. She was out in a few minutes.

 

           “Well I guess everyone needs a nap.” Solas said, curling up beside her.

 

           “What do you need a nap for? You haven’t done anything all day. Now we are going to go looking for those artifacts.” Solas just gave Dorcha a look, but quickly got over it as she sent a stink eye his way. They both hopped out the window and started to work their way around town.

* * *

 

           On the moon, Malzahar was not only looking at the score from the energy perspective, more than enough for what they needed and even what they wanted to get. Not as much as they hoped, but more than they expected.

 

           “This was an excellent haul Kog’Maw. The attacked worked as expected.” Malzahar couldn’t help but let the pride into his voice as he looked over everyone. “Cho’Gath, good plan, and Kha’Zix thank you for the distraction. We now have enough to last for a while. However, we don’t have enough to corrupt what we have. So we’ll have to hold off on that for a while.” Malzahar finished and floated out of the energy room where they were converting hundreds of orbs to void energy.

 

           “He doesn’t realize just how much of this has to go towards replenishing our Zz supply?” Cho’Gath asked, and Kha’Zix just nodded.

 

           “He will learn in time, however we do need energy from the next attack. Go find something else and get ready.” Kha’Zix turned to Kog’Maw and he just nodded. Kog’Maw began looking for another artifact and more energy. Looking over the map, Kog’Maw saw that there was only one he could go after.


	27. Packing It In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the attack being a success, Kog’Maw looks to attack and retrieve another one of Malzahar’s former possessions. While the void is unaware that the Guardians know their plans, the Guardians don’t know where the next place Kog’Maw will attack, which still puts them at a disadvantage. On top of that, the Guardians don’t know exactly how much energy Kog’Maw got away with.

           It seems like nothing could possibly make their situation any worse, but there was always something. Malzahar wandered around the palace on Runeterra’s moon, only to see just how bad things were. While their energy reserves had been refilled to a comfortable point, it still wasn’t enough. There were a lot of things that could have gone wrong in the last attack, but they were kept to a minimum. On top of that, there were still a great many things that would cause problems down the road if Kog’Maw couldn’t find the rest of his former possessions. Finally locating Kog’Maw, Malzahar floated into the planning room. Kog’Maw of course was back to eating constantly.

 

           “Great Prophet. As you can see we have only located one of your former possessions. I am working on a plan to retrieve it and still get energy, but I ask for your patience as I haven’t fully worked out details yet.” Kog’Maw, despite eating, looked scared. Malzahar however wasn’t in the mood to wait.

 

           “You do not have time. Work with what you have and get going. We need them sooner rather than later.” Malzahar floated out and Kog’Maw just stayed where he was for a few minutes before he dared to raise his head.

 

           ‘He wants everything and gives me no time to prepare. We can’t use overwhelming force as we burned that last time. So improvising then? Great.” Kog’Maw thought to himself, careful to keep from saying anything, even though he knew Malzahar could read minds. Kog’Maw turned back to the table, then quickly rushed out.

* * *

 

           Lux, Janna, and Poppy were in Vel’Koz’s office, waiting for him, while Lulu was working on something in the tower. The three of them just let her be because she was very intent on it, and since she often came up with weird solutions to problems, it was probably for the best. After waiting for 20 minutes the door opened and they were surprised it was Lulu. She handed Lux a drawn image, but it was really rough. Clearly it was of someone, but that was about all she could make out.

 

           “Um Lulu, could you explain a bit further?” Lux asked, with a puzzled voice.

 

           “I think it’s a new friend, but that’s about all I could make out. Things about them are, blurry?” Lulu ended with a question as she sat down. Lux passed it to Poppy, who took a few minutes but just shrugged and passed it to Janna. She however, seemed to be interested.

 

           “Lulu is this their hair?” Janna asked, now Lux and Poppy turned to look between the too.

 

           “Yes it’s her hair. All I could make out was the color. I really couldn’t make out much else. Why?” Lulu was still looking at her sketchbook, but seemed to be not looking at Janna’s face. However, the silence caused her to look up. Janna’s face was almost in a state of realization.

 

           “Because there are only 3 girls in my school that have this hair color. That really helps narrow the list. I’ll get their names tomorrow.” Janna handed the drawing back to Lux who again just looked at it and shrugged. Lux turned to hand it back to Lulu but she quickly realized that Lulu didn’t want it back as she was already working on something else. With a smile on her face, Lux just shook her head and pulled out her phone again while they waited for Vel’Koz.

 

           When he finally entered, Vel’Koz was looking frustrated. “Sorry to keep you all waiting, but I was conferring with Dorcha and Solas. Basically right now, we are in the blind. We have no idea where any of the artifacts are. The problem is we aren’t looking for void energy, but just magic in general, which is prevalent all over Runeterra. We are working with experts, but only a handful of Malzahar’s personal possessions were catalogued after what happened. Many of them just went missing.” Vel’Koz looked at the four Guardians, but none of them seemed to be angry.

 

           “Well I guess we’ll just have to wait then. I’m sure Kog’Maw will lead us right to it.” Lux said as she stood up, the rest of the team followed.

 

           “Have you checked old mage archives?” Janna asked turning to Vel’Koz.

 

           “Yes but we’ve heard nothing back. Many of them have so many volumes that trying to identify one is rather difficult. They have to search every single volume, and there is no guarantee that they will get them all. It would be easy to miss a shelf.” Vel’Koz looked gloomy as he looked up. He knew that there were so many things that needed to go right, especially right now, and this wasn’t helping.

 

           Janna took the hint and followed the rest of the team out. As they headed down he steps of the Library, they all took a good look outside and realized that there would be little point in trying to help as they wouldn’t get access to the mage archives without transforming, and even then, they would be better at searching as they knew what to look for, they didn’t.

 

           “I honestly say we just go home for now. We can’t do anything unless anyone has any ideas?” Lux turned up her voice into a question hoping that someone did indeed have an idea, but it seemed no one did.

 

           “Is there anything else we can do?” Poppy looked between the other members of the team but it seemed that no one had an answer. “I’ll take that as a no.” Poppy turned to Lux who just shook her head.

 

           “Seems like this is one were we have to wait.” Lulu spoke up and everyone turned to her. Her upbeat attitude was still welcoming, even if she wandered off at times.

 

           “Seems so. Let’s just go home then.” Lux turned to start walking and the rest followed, and they immediately started talking about anything except the void, being Star Guardians, or anything related to those two topics.

 

           The evening passed in peace as they all just looked at the small mountains of homework they were neglecting. As they all worked in their own way, there wasn’t even a sense of void energy. Kog’Maw would be planning his attack carefully and probably wouldn’t reveal himself until he was ready.

 

           As Lux finally finished most of it, she turned to see Dorcha and Solas hopping back in. “Any progress?”

 

           “Not really. We can’t locate anything.” Dorcha looked at Solas who seemed defeated.

 

           “We need you to settle a bit of a debate.” Dorcha turned to Lux who just nodded. “We can’t be looking for the artifacts and our last Guardian. Now when did Janna say she would get those names to you?” Lux checked her phone but nothing was there. “We need you to make the call. Look for our last Guardian, or look for the artifacts.” Dorcha fell silent as Lux looked between the two, then leaned back into her chair. Lux closed her eyes and thought carefully.

 

           “It would be better to search for our fifth teammate.” Lux finally said after a few minutes. “We don’t know where anything is and until we do, there isn’t much we can do. So doing something useful is better than nothing. I’ll let Janna know and you two can go with her tomorrow.” Dorcha and Solas just nodded and they just settled down and waited for tomorrow. Lux turned back to her remaining homework but quickly realized that there would be little she could do about it now, so instead she just jumped on her computer and played games until she went to sleep.

* * *

 

           Kog’Maw was frustrated because even though he had a lead on the bag, he couldn’t precisely locate it. It had changed hands many times since Malzahar joined the void and was now somewhere in a second hand resell shop somewhere in the city. Knowing he couldn’t go into the city without causing a panic, and also having no idea which one it was in, he needed someone who could, and possibly get it.

 

           Walking out of his room and heading around the palace, Kog’Maw looked for someone who could help, but as he passed more and more, he realized that his search might take longer than he expected.

 

           “Looking for something?” Kog’Maw turned to see Malzahar floating behind him. Immediately getting nervous Kog’Maw clamed up and couldn’t speak. “Let me guess, you can’t locate something?” Malzahar’s voice however was not one of anger, but rather one of curiosity. Kog’Maw decided to take his chances, even with how angry Malzahar had been the last time they spoke.

 

           “Yes Great Prophet. I had a lead on your bag, but I have lost track of it. It is somewhere in the city in a shop but I do not know which one. I was looking for someone to help me search.” Kog’Maw stopped himself before he rambled on too much. Malzahar put his hand to his chin and thought.

 

           “It isn’t surprising, especially if no one knew what it was. Also I left it away from everything else so someone probably just grabbed it and it has been passed around. I would look for Reah; she might be able to be of assistance.” Malzahar then floated off and Kog’Maw let out his breath. He knew he had escaped but also knew that he needed energy as well. Perhaps once Reah located the bag, she could take it while he launched an energy attack to make sure that she could get away with it.

 

           Kog’Maw quickly set off and after a while managed to find Reah looking over the Zz pit. She turned when she saw Kog’Maw approaching. “Need something?” She asked, but her voice told her she already knew the answer.

 

           “Yes. How would you like to find something, and do some shopping along the way?” Kog’Maw was encouraged by the fact she perked up.

 

           “Absolutely. But do I actually have to pay for anything?” Reah cracked a smile.

 

           “Nope, if you don’t get caught. I have a lead on Malzahar’s bag, but I can’t pin it down. It is in one of those second hand places in the city. So I need you to locate it and then try and get it by any means necessary.” Kog’Maw seemed happy, but Reah looked down at the creature.

 

           “First, you provide me with backup. I’m not ending up like my sister. Second, actually do your job, and I will do mine.” Reah crossed her arms and Kog’Maw knew that he had little choice.

 

           “What happened to Lisna was regrettable. But you also knew that something like that could happen. We have overpowered guardians previously because we had so much energy at our command. We are fighting from a disadvantage now. Now are you going to help me or should I find someone who won’t set demands.” Kog’Maw was furious that he wasn’t being listened to. Reah looked at Kog’Maw for a few seconds before nodding. She knew that she couldn’t outright refuse an order, she’d be Cho’Gath’s next meal if she did. “Good now let’s get going. You had better wait until tomorrow and go during busy times as it will not only hide you, but also will allow you to possibly get away easily.”

 

           Kog’Maw turned and walked away. Reah looked at him and realized that he was probably right. Looking back to the pit where they were breeding Zzs like crazy, she decided to wait until the following day.

* * *

 

           On Runeterra, the next day greeted the Guardians well. There were no cold spells, so they would in theory have a day to rest. Looking out her window, Janna knew this day could end with their team complete, but it could also end with another void attack. As she finished putting on her uniform, she saw Dorcha and Solas hopping into her room. Smiling, she turned to Zephyr, who was woken up from his usual morning nap.

 

           “Well nice to see at least two of you are ready to go.” Janna poke fun at her companion, and Zephyr just hissed as a response, but couldn’t hold it as he started laughing with the others in a few seconds. Janna opened her bag and Dorcha and Solas hopped in while Zephyr stretched and once Janna was ready, he hopped onto her shoulder. He would be keeping an eye on Dorcha and Solas while they investigated the three people. Janna was also leaving early to get to school early so they could identify the three.

 

           Walking to school as early as she was, Janna was reminded why she enjoyed the early morning air. It was always refreshing, and it was also quiet. She didn’t even need to check her phone because she knew that no one else would be up. By the time she got to school, it was light out and she picked a tree where she could see the student entrance clearly and she opened her bag to let Dorcha and Solas out. Zephyr hopped off a while back and had made his way to the roof, where Janna could see him now.

 

           As students started to walk in, their plans ran into a hitch. There weren’t just three, there were 9. “Well that complicates things.” Dorcha mumbled while Solas was keeping careful track of them. “How do you want us to proceed?” Dorcha turned to Janna who had one very annoyed look on her face.

 

           “Just look at each of them. I’m sure you can’t get to them all today so just be careful.” They both nodded and hopped off. Janna stood up and decided that it would probably be time to go in. She texted everyone else the news and headed inside to her first class.

* * *

 

           When Lux woke up that morning, and saw nothing from Janna, she was a bit relieved. So much so that she fell back asleep.

 

           “Luxanna! You are late! Again!” Lux never underestimated when her mother used her full name. Quickly looking at her clock, Lux jumped in a panic and quickly made a mess of her room getting into her uniform and then out the door, blowing past Garen, and her parents in the process. Both of her parents were just shaking their heads. “Sometimes I don’t know how she functions.” Mrs. Crownguard just went back to cleaning up before going to bed as she had just come off the late rotation.

 

           Lux quickly sprinted to school and barely made it into class before the bell rang. Poppy noticed this and pointed to her phone, which made Lux pull hers out. Reading the message from Janna, Lux just collapsed into her desk. ‘Well no one said this would be easy.’ She could barely concentrate on the lesson as Ms. Teller kept going on throughout the day.

* * *

 

           Reah, while taking Kog’Maw’s advice, decided to do a bit of midday shopping as well. Blending in with the lunch crowd was easy enough and she was able to knock off several shops as a result. Knowing that she would probably not find it today, or not have enough time to formulate a full plan, she decided to just end her adventures as the lunch crowd died off and she returned to the void to wait for the evening shopping hours.

 

           The problem that happened is while she made it to Runeterra unnoticed, her return wasn’t so quiet.

* * *

 

           Just when Lux decided that nothing would bring her out of her stupor today, a shot of cold ran down her spine and she looked out the window, then to Poppy and Lulu. Both of them quickly looked back and nodded. ‘Well so much for peace and quiet.’ Not wanting to risk pulling her phone, Lux knew they had to wait until after school to ask Janna how the day went. Deciding to try and focus for the rest of the day, Lux at least made it look like she was paying attention, even if she was still drifting off.

 

           Janna for her part, knew that today would end in frustration as lunch came around, she met up with Dorcha and Solas, who had only managed to get to two of the nine and so far zero luck. Janna was frustrated but knew that there was only so much they could do. However, as she walked to her afternoon classes, Janna felt a shiver run down her spine. ‘Well this day just went from bad to worse.’ Once she was in class, Janna checked her phone but saw nothing from the others. Clearly they weren’t able to reach their phones.

 

           As they all left school, they made a direct path to the tower but before they even got there, another shiver. Lux, Poppy, and Lulu arrived first, then Janna, who only had to nod her head to show she felt it as well. Janna let Dorcha and Solas out and Zephyr jumped off of her shoulder. Vel’Koz wasn’t much further behind and he carefully closed the door.

 

           “So I guess you all felt it and we have no idea what they are doing. Clearly Malzahar had a lead on one of his old possessions but we have no idea what it is or where it is.” Vel’Koz began pacing back and forth, as Lux turned to the rest of the team.

 

           “Ok then first things first. Janna, Dorcha, Solas, Zephyr, how did the search go?” All four of them looked at each other before smiling in a guilty way. Lux’s face went from excited to frustrated in a flash. “That good huh?”

 

           “We got to four of them, but of the nine, we just couldn’t get to them without being seen. We have an idea for tomorrow.” Solas tried to keep his voice neutral, but the face confidence wasn’t fooling anyone.

 

           “Well now you have to find out where and who this void monster is. So get going. Zephyr you too.” Lux just looked at the three of them and they quickly sprinted off. Pix then chirped up and Lux turned to him and Lulu.

 

           “Pix said he wants to help as well.” Lulu didn’t even look up from what she was drawing. The connection between the two was clearly much deeper than they thought.

 

           “Well then Pix, I’d say get going.” Lux’s tone was softer with Pix than the others. Pix just squeaked and headed out. “I’m going to regret that tone aren’t I?” Lux asked no more than 5 seconds later.

 

           “Probably.” Poppy said as she turned to the map of the city and quickly realizing that there wasn’t much she could do to help leaned back into her chair. Taking the hint, Lux sat back down and leaned back as well. They knew there would little they could do apart from go out themselves, but even if they found someone, being followed by someone like them, would almost certainly give them away. It was better for those 4 to try something and report back, as much as it frustrated them all.

 

           “Well then should we wait here, or should we head home?” Lulu asked, shaking everyone out of their thoughts. Lux looked around and then shook her head.

 

           “For now, we should wait here. See if they manage to find something.” Lux looked at everyone and they all just nodded.

 

           “OK.” Lulu immediately went back to drawing and it was clear that whatever she was drawing was important. Lux just shook her head because she didn’t understand how she did this but clearly it was working. Lux and Janna pulled out homework while Poppy transformed and headed upstairs for some practice. Nearly 2 hours passed before Solas returned and he was clearly out of breath.

 

           “Found her. Zephyr is following. Dorcha managed to get a picture and she’s on her way here. Give her a minute.” As he finished, Solas just plopped down on the bar and Lux quickly got him some water. Dorcha wasn’t far behind as she came with a photo in her mouth. They all quickly hovered around and before any of them got a good look, Vel’Koz quickly took the photo and got a better look at it.

 

           “This isn’t good.” He muttered a second later. Everyone was now looking at him When he didn’t say anything for a few minutes Poppy, who had come back down in the interim, poked Vel’Koz with her hammer.

 

           “Um Vel? Care to share?” Poppy’s poke seemed to knock Vel’Koz out of his stupor.

 

           “Sorry but I know who this is. This is Reah, Lisna’s sister. I think she should be told.” Suddenly the stakes were much bigger than they thought. Lux immediately sat back down; Janna started pacing; Poppy stayed transformed but leaned against the bar in thought; and Lulu just sat back down and looked between everyone.

 

           “And what would we say?” Janna finally said something after almost 10 minutes. Everyone turned to look and they all just nodded. “I mean we just can’t say we are going to destroy her, which she might for us to do.”

 

           “So she doesn’t deserve to know?” Vel’Koz asked as he was clearly worried about Lisna’s reaction should something go wrong.

 

           “I think what Janna means is that we can’t continue to make exceptions. I mean I have no idea how we could convince her to betray the void. Lisna was a bit more desperate but I can’t see that working this time around.” Poppy let her voice trail off as she sat back into her chair. Lux looked between everyone but then Lulu passed a drawing to her and Lux looked at it before smiling. Lulu just smiled in return.

 

           “Well I think that is what we are looking for. Janna, Poppy, and Vel’Koz came over to see what Lulu had drawn. It was extremely detailed and after Vel’Koz looked between his notes and the picture, nodded.

 

           “That’s it alright. Now we just need to find it. Oh nevermind.” Vel’Koz looked at Lulu’s note underneath. It read ‘Second Hand’. “So just look at all of the second hand stores on the city. I can get some help with this as for Lisna, we still haven’t come to a decision.”

 

           “I’m going to tell her and see if she can help. Make a copy of that.” Lux rarely just ordered everyone around, but it seemed that no one argued. Vel’Koz quickly moved to make a copy of Lulu’s drawing, Poppy powered down and grabbed her things knowing that the evening’s activities would be over soon, and Janna grabbed Lux a cloak. “In the meantime, you three try to keep an eye on this woman. Meet up with Zephyr and keep out of sight.” Poppy’s frown turned into a smile while Janna and Lulu just nodded. Lux reached into her bag and grabbed her locket.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up.” Lux took a second to look herself over then grabbed the cloak from Janna and then headed to the dock where Nasus parked the van. Lux started to walk over to the van once he arrived, but Nasus shook his head and pointed to a smaller car and Lux just nodded.

* * *

 

           Meanwhile, Janna, Poppy, and Lulu headed out to join Zephyr while Dorcha and Solas stayed behind to recover, and pig out on the treats Poppy left them. It didn’t take long from them to spot their person once they reached downtown, which was littered with second hand stores and she had apparently been to a few of them, judging by the bags on her arms. “Ok then spread out and look like normal teens.” Janna turned to Poppy and Lulu who both looked at her confused.

 

           “Um wouldn’t it be better to stick together then?” Lulu asked, while Poppy just pointed to Lulu with a “um…that” face. Janna just let her eyes room then nodded. All three pulled out their phones and it was easy enough to blend in. While they all couldn’t follow her into every shop, it was clear she was looking for Malzahar’s bag and she wasn’t going to stop until she found it. While the team did decide to look for it as well, they were also certain that Reah wouldn’t try and steal it today. Kog’Maw would need energy and that would require a distraction. Which just might give them the chance they need.

 

           After 5 more stores, they noticed Reah wasn’t walking to the next, and after following her for a bit, she disappeared into an alley. Lulu carefully went in and saw her vanish through a void portal. “She’s gone.” Lulu told the others when she returned.

 

           “Let’s check the last shop.” Janna said and they quickly hurried back over. After 20 minutes of looking through the shop, Poppy found it. After moving its location, they made their way out and Lulu texted Lux with the information before realizing that Lux didn’t have her phone. “We should head back to the tower and make plans for tomorrow.” Janna suggested as both her and Poppy realized the same thing. They all changed course and made a b-line for the tower.

* * *

 

           While on the way to Lisna’s apartment, Lux remained quiet and seemed more asleep than anything. “Long day?” Nasus asked and Lux just turned her head.

 

           “Yeah I guess. Sorry I’m just going over what I’m going to say. I have to pick and choose my words carefully to try and get her to work with us and not tip off her sister.”

 

           “Understandable. I’ll be quiet then.” Nasus took to driving as he could hear Lux talking under her breath now that he was listening for it. As they arrived at the apartment complex, Lux turned to Nasus with a curious look on her face. “Vel always intended to move here so he kept the condo but he liked living at the museum better so he’s been renting it out ever since. It’s been without a tenant for a while now so he offered it to Lisna until she gets on her feet. The number is 1206 and the door code is 945201.” Lux nodded and opened the door, careful to keep her appearance hidden.

 

           Lux punched in the door code and carefully made her way to the 12th floor. Once outside the door, she knocked. “One minute.” Came a voice from inside. Lisna opened the door a minute later and after Lux raised her head just enough for Lisna to catch a glimpse of her tiara, Lisna stood back and let her in. “Funny to see you here. I figured you wouldn’t come by for a visit.” Lisna kept up her human appearance if only to keep the Guardian comfortable but she knew there was another reason.

 

           “Can we sit down, there is something you need to know?” Lux pulled down the hood and Lisna beckoned to the table in the kitchen.

 

           “Need anything?” She asked.

 

           “No but thank you.” Lux carefully placed her baton so it leaned up against the chair, and Lisna sat down opposite her.

 

           “So what’s this information I need to know.” Lisna was keeping a neutral face since she didn’t know what was about to happen.

 

           “It’s about your sister.” Lux looked up and Lisna’s face dropped, but she didn’t say anything. “Kog’Maw has apparently recruited her to find and take Malzahar’s bag. We have been unable to locate it as of yet, but we have a feeling she might be able to locate it faster. Lux reached into the small bag she was carrying and pulled out Lulu’s drawing and Reah’s photo. Lisna grabbed her sister’s photo and sighed.

 

           “I figured this would happen sooner or later and I thank you for telling me. She’s determined and if it is out there, she will find it. I’m guessing you are trying to see if there is a way to defeat her without destroying her right?” Lisna looked up at Lux who shook her head. Lisna became enraged, but keep it check for the time being since it seemed the Guardian had another plan.

 

           “We were hoping you could talk her out of supporting the void as well. We can easily make it look like she was destroyed.” Lux just let her voice trail off and Lisna stood up and paced around for 5 minutes. Lux kept an eye on her while she kept her head looking at the table. Eventually Lisna sat back down.

 

           “I think I can, but you would have to find it first. Without that piece of information, I can’t be of much help. If you can find it…wait I’ve seen this.” Lisna turned to the sheet of paper and took a closer look. “Yes I’m sure I have. It was at this second hand store. I liked it because of its patterns, but I figured I’d come back in two days and if it was still there, then I’d take it. Oh which shop was it...” Lisna put her head into her hands and after a minute she raised her head again. “Yes it was Rail Central on Clark. Good place.”

 

           “Good that gives us an edge. Hopefully.” Lux’s voice perked up with some good news.

 

           “She probably won’t try and take it tonight because that annoying eating machine will need energy was well so he’ll cause a distraction while she gets away with the goods, or so he will think. I’ll help you stop my sister, hopefully turn her as well, but I can’t let you destroy her. If you are going to, then I’m going as well.” Lux looked carefully into Lisna’s face and saw she was determined.

 

           “Very well, but something tells me it won’t come to that.” Lux stood up and made for the door. “I’ll have Vel’Koz contact you once we make plans.”

 

           “Please. I could spend all day in that shop have you ever been there?” Lux had but she also knew that she had to play her part so she shook her head. “It has a restaurant, bar, and reading area. I could spend all day there. I’ll just head there for the next few days and just wait. Don’t worry about that. Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow.” Lux gave a quick bow, pulled up her hood, and let herself out. Making her way back to Nasus, she quickly got in the car and he drove her back to the tower.

 

           “Well how did it go?” Nasus asked after a few minutes.

 

           “Good, well mostly. She said she would try and help us but wouldn’t let us destroy her sister without her. So there’s that.” Lux’s voice dropped as she finished knowing that tomorrow would lead to a flurry of activity and would hopefully end up not too badly, but she couldn’t know.

 

           “Well then, you have to be prepared for that. I mean what you would any of you do for your families?” Lux opened her mouth to reply, but quickly fell silent. She knew Nasus was right but she also knew that tomorrow might lead to an action she couldn’t take.

 

           “Well then, let’s hope that we don’t arrive there.” Lux perked her voice up, but she wasn’t fooling herself or Nasus and they both knew it. “Sorry, but this isn’t decisions I should be making, at least not yet.”

 

           “I know that. Everyone knows that, but what’s the alternative, or better yet what is the choice we have?” Nasus kept his voice comforting, and Lux just put her head down and gave a brief smile.

 

           “We don’t have one. At least not right now.” Lux let her voice end and Nasus knew the conversation was over for the moment. The decisions these girls were making are decisions that even adults would have issues making. He decided that it would be best to let the rest of the trip pass in peace.

 

           Once they got back, Lux headed to the tower where she found Janna, Poppy, and Lulu waiting. Lux barely had enough time to lower her hood before Janna spoke up.

 

           “We found it. It’s a store called…”

 

           “Rail Central?” Lux asked and Janna just stopped dead in her tracks. “Lisna found the bag and was going to purchase it in a few days. But sit down because there is an issue we need to discuss so I suggest you all sit down.” Janna, Poppy, and Lulu sat down and Lux powered down, then sat down. Lux took a deep breath to calm herself and began.

 

           “So Lisna was more than happy to try and help talk her sister out of supporting the void, but it came with a hitch. If we couldn’t convince her, then we’d have to destroy them both. I could see that I wasn’t going to talk her out of it so I didn’t bother to try.” Lux looked around at the table and everyone was rather gloomy. Even Lulu forever the optimist, was looking down.

 

           “Well I guess we can’t let it come to that. I’m sure we can be persuasive enough. Especially with both Lisna and Vel’Koz there. But I think you should be there as well.” Poppy turned to Lux who just looked surprised. “If anyone can convince her to leave the void, it would be you.” Poppy finished saying what she wanted to and after looking between Janna and Lulu, who both just nodded in agreement, Lux put her head back, took a deep breath again, then nodded.

 

           “Ok if that is what you think is good. I just don’t like splitting us up. Especially since we can’t find our fifth teammate.” Lux turned to Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr, who all quickly looked away. “Try tomorrow before all the crazy gets loose. I’ll go talk to Vel’Koz about that, hopefully he will agree. Until tomorrow then?” The rest of the team nodded and they all grabbed their things and left. Lux let Dorcha and Solas hop into her pack before leaving after the rest of the team left. Carefully walking to Vel’Koz’s office, she knocked and entered. Vel’Koz looked up from his desk as she entered.

 

           “Something wrong? You seem a bit distressed.” Vel’Koz immediately picked up on Lux’s attitude and he knew that it would be best to just let her bring it up at her own pace. Lux just sat for a few minutes before she looked up.

 

           “It’s about Reah. I talked with Lisna and she is more than willing to try and convince her sister to leave but there’s a big condition.” Vel’Koz just looked at Lux intently, he knew this wasn’t good. “If we fail, then we have to destroy them both. I mean what could I say so I just nodded and left. Lisna said she’d be at Rail Central tomorrow all day because Reah found it, but I didn’t know at the time. Also Poppy thought you should be there as well since Lisna, you, and me could probably convince her.” Lux finally finished and she just leaned back in the chair. Vel’Koz pondered his answer and once it seemed Lux was ready for it, he spoke.

 

           “That is a decision that is well beyond what any of you should be making at your age, and there is no right or wrong answer. The only answer is what we make of it at the time. I can most certainly go and help. I frequently go to those stores looking for books or other things so my presence won’t be out of place. What I will promise for tomorrow is that we will do our best. That is all we can hope and ask for.” Vel’Koz finished and looked at Lux carefully who was clearly uncomfortable. Vel’Koz reached into his desk and pulled the void pills. “Here, take one of these before you go to sleep. It won’t eliminate the feelings or anything else, but you will sleep.” Lux looked up and just nodded.

 

           “Thanks. I guess that is what Nasus didn’t want to say in the car.” Lux stood up and grabbed a pill before Vel’Koz put them back in his desk.

 

           “My guess as well. I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Vel’Koz turned up his voice at the end and as Lux reached the door, she turned and smiled.

 

           “I’ll be there. Now to just figure out how to get out of school.” Lux gave a bit of a giggle as she left and headed home. Once she was home, she let Dorcha and Solas out, and then got ready for bed. After taking the pill, Lux felt the cold rush over her, but it was a welcoming cold. She pulled up the blankets and settled down for a night’s sleep that was needed.

* * *

 

           As the guardians got to sleep, Kog’Maw was looking over his plan for the last time. He needed to distract the guardians and he also needed energy. Deciding to wait until lunch where he might be able to get a lot of energy, he could have an ample distraction with some Zzs and himself while Reah got the bag. That is if the guardians hadn’t found it already.

 

           “You are sure it is there?” Kog’Maw asked Reah, who just nodded.

 

           “It was there. All I’ll have to do tomorrow is walk in, suck some energy, grab it, then vanish through a portal. It doesn’t have to be complicated.” Reah’s voice conveyed her frustration as Kog’Maw once again tried to complicate the plan, when it didn’t need to be.

 

           “Fine then. Just watch out because underestimate those guardians at your own peril.”

 

           “I know, you midget worm.” Reah walked out and Kog’Maw was again fuming. He was getting real tired of the attitude he kept getting, but knew there wasn’t much of an alternative. Deciding on not pushing the matter, Kog’Maw just decided to get some sleep for the night. Tomorrow would be a busy day.

* * *

 

           As the sun creeped over the horizon, Lux woke up before her alarm and had a chance to stare out the window. Today was going to be a day to remember for one reason or another but she also enjoyed the sleep she got. “Can’t become dependent on those however.” Lux muttered to herself before turning to see Dorcha and Solas still sleeping. Looking over at her clock, Lux saw she still had a bit of time, so just carefully leaned back against her pillows until her alarm actually went off. Only then did she pull herself out of bed.

 

           As she walked to school, Lux once again met up with Amy, who was in a very good mood today for some reason. Lux tried to push the decision she would have to make from her mind but found she couldn’t.

 

           “Come on Lux, what’s the matter?” Amy clearly picked up on Lux’s dilemma, but she couldn’t know the truth.

 

           “Just a decision that I’m going to have to make soon. I really don’t want to talk about it, but let’s just say it isn’t one that is easy.” Lux kept her voice low but couldn’t hide the fear that came out as well.

 

           “Well just do your best. You have always made good decisions in the worst times. You just can’t stress over it Lux; it isn’t doing wonders for you.” Amy put her arm around her friend and Lux couldn’t help but smile. Even Amy was a great help. “Come on let’s get to class and hope nothing bad happens today.”

 

           “Did you study for the quiz?” Lux asked and then started running as Amy paused for a second.

 

           “Oh don’t do that. Come back here!” Lux charged off towards their school while Amy was running after her. After they got into class, Amy gave Lux one hit on the arm before Ms. Teller walked in. Lux just rubbed her arm and smiled. However, as the morning wore on, Lux couldn’t help but keep coming back to that decision and how it was now closer than ever. She knew that Kog’Maw wouldn’t probably attack until noon and get people going out to lunch so there was time, but every second was going to be in agony.

 

           Across the room, Poppy noticed Lux, and knew that the decision was weighing on her. It wasn’t fair that they were making these decisions, but then life wasn’t fair and neither was the void. Sooner or later they are going to have to make the tough choices and those days were rapidly approaching. Lulu also seemed concerned and carefully looked back more than once during class.

 

           Janna meanwhile was having her hands full keeping track of Zephyr, Dorcha, and Solas, as they moved around the school checking those who had that hair color. It wasn’t until her science class that they reported in. Janna was by the window, which was opened just enough for Solas to squeeze through without being noticed. “We’ve eliminated more of the list, but we still have 4 to go, and given it’s almost lunch, I doubt we will get to them.”

 

           Janna tried to keep from sighing heavily, but knew there was no other option. ‘Guess another fight without all 5.’ She said to herself as class dragged on.

 

           Soon enough, the lunch bell rang and all four of them quickly met in the park between their schools and they quickly ate what would probably be a quick meal. No sooner had they finished and began talking about when Kog’Maw would attack, did a rush of cold wash over the four of them.

 

           “Well no time like the present. Let’s go.” Lux turned and sprinted for the small grove of trees they used frequently and after checking that they were alone, they were ready.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” As they shook off the sensation from transforming, one look around saw students running for the buildings. Others were running off towards the houses behind the fields and more were just running.

 

           “Ok then, let’s go.” Poppy said and sprinted off towards downtown where it wasn’t difficult to find Kog’Maw. He was near one of the main areas, one with a lot of restaurants and was draining energy and using Zzs to transport orbs back. As they entered the area, Debonair came up behind them.

 

           “So what’s the plan?” He asked as they all skidded to a stop.

 

           “The plan is that you four hold off that eating machine and slow him down, while I deal with another matter. Just don’t force him to retreat.” Lux said and Debonair couldn’t hide his confused face, but nodded nonetheless. “It seems weird, but…well.”

 

           “Well then let’s get to it.” His attitude was always a bit of relief. Lux watched as the four charged straight into Kog’Maw and Lux quickly sped towards Rail Central. Once she got there, she found people inside, drained of energy, and a void creature, clearly Reah, and Lux carefully entered the front door. Looking back, Lux saw Lisna, and Vel’Koz waiting for her. Letting a glint from her baton get their attention, Lux carefully moved through the shop and got close enough.

 

           “Oh where is it? It was right here yesterday.” Reah growled as she turned over more stacks and eventually turned to see Lux standing there. “So I have a visitor. Come to destroy me like you did my sister? You will find I’m a bit more of a challenge.”

 

           “It isn’t polite to insult family.” Lisna took her queue to emerge from the back while Vel’Koz followed close behind. Reah just stopped dead. Like her sister, when she was in void form, Reah’s hands had needles on them, but she had a much more slender form than her sister. “What? Told you I was dead didn’t they?” Again Reah didn’t have a response. Lux and Vel’Koz moved to cover Lisna as she moved into the open.

 

           “You’re supposed to be dead. They told me that you died. Or at least that eating worm did. What happened?” Reah retracted the needles on her hands and Lux was able to breathe a bit.

 

           “They saved me. I was too weak to fight, but instead of destroying me like I asked them too, they brought me to Vel’Koz here and he helped me. At first I called it weakness but as I’ve been here for a while now, I’ve seen what Vel’Koz meant. We can live together in peace. Most of the people here have no idea who I am and none of them seem to care. I’ve been doing well so far, but I’ve got a lot to learn. There is no reason you have to throw your life away for something that isn’t worth it. Trust me.” Lisna finished and Reah was still just standing there clearly not knowing what to say.

 

           “And I’m supposed to believe that they will just let me stay here without any complaints?” Reah finally asked after a few minutes and while Lux moved to talk, Lisna just shook her head.

 

           “Considering the only time I’ve seen them is when this one came to tell me about you, yes. Vel’Koz checks in one a week to give me new void energy but apart from that, I’m free to do what I want. Attacking serves no purpose, especially when you see the fashion on this planet. It is just…amazing. Instead of destroying we can be part of something.” Lisna’s voice started to falter and Lux took that as her queue.

 

           “We don’t care as long as you live in peace and don’t try to attack or destroy. I don’t want to destroy you, but if I have to, I will.” Lux tightened her grip on her baton and Reah took note of it. Looking between Lux, Lisna, and Vel’Koz, she finally turned to Vel’Koz.

 

           “Why? I mean why stay?”

 

           “Apart from the fact I was left behind? Because I found this place to be fascinating. Just one planet in the billions that are here, I’ve learned so much, and sooner or later I’m sure I’ll leave, but to where I have no idea. There is still so much to learn. The people here of course weren’t accepting at first, but eventually they came to accept me and even help me in many occasions. I still see those that despise me, and for good reason, but I’m not about to let that distract me from helping others.” Vel’Koz finished his speech and turned from Lux to Lisna to Reah as the latter just stood there in exasperation. Clearly she didn’t have any idea to expect this and she just kept looking between the three people now standing opposite her.

 

           Lux kept a careful watch but knew that sooner or later someone would have to make a move, and she didn’t want to be the one who does it. Finally, when it seemed Lisna would try and force something, Reah turned to Lux. “So you would actually let me stay here. Knowing full well what I am and where I came from? I would be free to pursue my own interests without you checking in on me?”

 

           “As long as those interests don’t and never include attacking people for their energy, yes. Vel’Koz can help you with that.” Lux loosened her grip on her baton as she finished trying to defuse the situation a bit. Reah turned on her heal to Vel’Koz and he just nodded. Reah again looked between the three of them before collapsing against a display. Lisna went over to her sister while Lux and Vel’Koz held back.

 

           “Well I guess I never liked any of them anyway. Especially when they lie.” Reah’s voice suddenly was filled with fire. “There is something you don’t know and you need to. I’m sure when you two fought,” Reah indicated Lux and Lisna, “she told you of our reserve energy. What you don’t know is that it is still bad. Malzahar is feeding something. I don’t know what it is, but it’s big, ugly, and hungry. The energy is also going to rebreed our Zzs and those are still rebuilding. He’s bringing in a lot of energy, but it is going just as fast as it is coming.”

 

           Lux looked between Lisna and Vel’Koz before nodding. “Thank you for telling us that. We are trying to stop them, but it is still difficult.”

 

           “I’m sure that it is. I’m also sure that somehow you will succeed. Now how do I disappear?” Reah looked between the three of them with a bit of smile on her face.

 

           “Just assume your human form and follow me.” Lisna helped Reah to her feet. “Vel’Koz will tell us everything on route. Oh you might want to safeguard this.” Lisna handed the bag over to Vel’Koz who smiled in his way. Lux smiled as well, as they stopped Kog’Maw’s objective. Vel’Koz, Lisna, and Reah left the shop and entered a vehicle that Nasus had driven up. Lux just nodded and she took off back towards the fight. When she arrived, the scene that greeted her almost made her laugh.

* * *

 

           As Lux tore off towards Rail Central, Janna turned to see Kog’Maw hadn’t noticed them yet. “Ok here’s what we are going to do. You two,” Janna pointed towards Poppy and Debonair, “are going to charge him while we shield you. Kog’Maw will either dodge or get hit by at least one of you. Should he avoid everything, we’ll just throw things at him.” The team split up and Janna followed Debonair while Lulu followed Poppy. Once they were in place, Janna gave the signal and Debonair and Poppy charged. Kog’Maw was completely oblivious until they were both right on top of him. Kog’Maw panicked and tried to fire at them both, but his attacks were only absorbed by Janna’s and Lulu’s shields.

 

           “Hey ugly, heads up!” Poppy roared and she and Debonair brought their hammers down, which sent Kog’Maw flying through the air and into a nearby building where he landed, hard. Really hard. Sliding down the wall, Kog’Maw seemed stunned as it took him several seconds to get back up, only to do so and wander around absentmindedly. Everyone just looked at each other only to have to quickly dodge out of the way of the Zzs which had turned from collecting orbs to attacking them.

 

           “Move!” Janna yelled as everyone started picking them off and it was clear their numbers weren’t going to be replenished. “Ok everyone, pick your targets and go.” Everyone quickly spread out and while Poppy, Lulu, and Debonair manned the line, Janna kept an eye on them while still watching Kog’Maw who was still in a daze.

 

           Poppy, Lulu, and Debonair used their powers and abilities to thin out the horde and Janna kept them alive with shields, twisters, and making sure Kog’Maw didn’t flank them. Eventually the horde thinned enough for the rest to flee. The group charged them preventing as many orbs as possible, but they still got out with a respectable number. Once the horde was gone completely, and the portal closed, they all turned to Kog’Maw who was still in a daze.

 

           Movement behind them caused them all to turn, but it was only Lux who was struggling to hold back her laughter. For more reasons than the obvious. “Someone want to explain what happened?” Lux was now fighting back tears of laughter as she watched Kog’Maw just wander around.

 

           “So these two hit him into a building and he hasn’t been right since. I think we knocked his brain off.” Janna said, who was also now trying not to laugh. As they watched, Kog’Maw collided with another building and slumped down. That seemed to knock the sense back into him as he stood up, shook his head, and turned to see the 5 facing him.

 

           “Well it seems that you got lucky, no matter my Zzs…” Kog’Maw stopped talking as he looked around and saw the Zzs were gone. “Well at least that annoying minion succeeded.”

 

           “Um no. If you are looking for his bag, I’ve secured it in a location you will never find it.” Lux was only too happy to let the confidence in her voice show. Kog’Maw now knew he was in trouble. He had no idea how much energy the Zzs managed to get away with and now that the bag was in the custody of the guardians, he was in big trouble.

 

           “Well then, until next time.” Kog’Maw moved quickly, opened a portal, and disappeared through it. Everyone just stood there for a few seconds before Lulu spoke.

 

           “Well that was anti-climactic.” That broke the tension and everyone just started laughing. As they recovered and looked around, the damage was only just people collapsed and paramedics were already tending to them. There was almost no damage elsewhere except a small dent in the facing of the building where Kog’Maw hit.

 

           “Well until next time you four.” Debonair said as he disappeared and Lux turned to the rest of the team.

 

           “I think we should just go home and say that we just reacted when the alarm went off. Well to the tower first.” Lux added as an afterthought. They headed for the tower where they found Vel’Koz hovering over Malzahar’s bag. He turned as they entered.

 

           “Well Reah is with Lisna and they are going to share that condo that I have and they should be happy there. As for this, I’m going to lock it in the vault. Malzahar shouldn’t be able to get it there. The vault is still protected by Guardian Magic. As for the rest of today, the Chief is making note of the little property damage and the fact you were able to stop 2 attacks.”

 

           “Then I guess I’d call this a successful day. What about our phones?” Poppy had no sooner finished talking than she saw Dorcha and Solas with their phones typing text messages. “Are we really that predictable?”

 

           “No, but short conversations in the heat of a crisis are easy enough to fake.” Solas said as he tossed Poppy’s phone back to her. Lux, Janna, and Lulu grabbed theirs and saw that he was correct.

 

           “By the way, how many do you have left?” Lux turned to Janna, Zephyr, Dorcha, and Solas.

 

           “Um…four.” They all just hung their heads as Dorcha mumbled a reply.

 

           “Well get to them tomorrow. Until then, I suggest we all just go home and get some sleep. I’m sure we will need it.” Lux powered down, then everyone else did and they headed home. Vel’Koz placed the bag in the vault and sealed it up, knowing that it would be safe.

 

           As day turned to night, the team settled down for homework and looked to the future.

 

           “Just one more and we are unstoppable.” Lux said to no one in particular as she sat at her computer, looking out the window. “Your move.”

* * *

 

           On the moon, Malzahar wasn’t happy and he let it show. The energy that was collected was a loss, and the fact Kog’Maw let Reah get destroyed wasn’t helping. “You have failed me on two fronts you useless worm. Now you will suffer.” Malzahar unleashed his powers and Kog’Maw was sent running from the throne room like a scared puppy. Making the accompanying noises to match. Once he was gone, Malzahar tuned to Cho’Gath, who was watching with disbelief.

 

           “I assume you think that was too much?” Malzahar let his frustration and anger show.

 

           “Yes. He did the best he could under the circumstances. I’m pretty sure any one of us, myself included would be dazed at the hit he took. Maybe not for as long, but still.” Cho’Gath finished and walked out. Despite his constant treats of eating people, he was also a strategist and knew the score. Kog’Maw was outmaneuvered. The guardians found the bag and set a trap that only one was needed to pull off.

 

           Malzahar on the other hand was still fuming. He wasn’t about to let this go lying down, but he also knew that if he didn’t calm down soon, her would make a bigger mistake. Looking at the ball in space that was Runeterra, he decided to sleep on it and make new plans in the morning.

           “You may have won this battle guardians, but you won’t win the war.”


	28. Coming in With a Bang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Kog’Maw’s last plan completely an utterly falling apart, he knows that he’s on thin ice and needs to produce results with the next attack, or there will be dire consequences. Meanwhile, the Guardians have thrown everything to finding their last teammate and getting her onboard. The only question is can they find them before Kog’Maw attacks again?

           As Janna surveyed the remaining three people, Janna couldn’t tell which was one was their last teammate. All three were different but there had to be another clue. However, when Janna asked Lulu the previous day to see if anything new had come to her, Lulu just said no, and almost hovered off. Janna was sitting by a tree watching the rest of the school file in, while Zephyr, Dorcha, and Solas were keeping an eye from the roof. Janna didn’t want to make a bet, but if she had to guess, it was probably the one they would least expect. Groaning, she just gave up and headed inside. It would be the end of the day before they knew for certain. Hopefully Kog’Maw would stay quiet for the day.

 

           “I’m not even going to tempt fate. Just go inside and go to class.” Janna muttered to herself. She then got up, dusted herself off, and headed inside.

* * *

 

           On Runeterra’s moon, Kog’Maw was miserable. His last plan had backfired, utterly backfired and now he had to make up for his mistake. He needed energy but also needed to locate Malzahar’s tome, and that wasn’t easy. Unlike the bag and boots, they had absolutely no idea where his tome could be. It wasn’t catalogued with the rest of the artifacts and they just tossed it aside when they all corrupted Malzahar, not knowing fully what it was. It could literally be anywhere.

 

           Kog’Maw was so depressed he couldn’t even eat. The large pile of snacks on his table was still full, and he couldn’t even pay attention.

 

           “That bad worm?” Kog’Maw turned to see Rek’Sai standing there, with somewhat of a smile on her face. Kog’Maw didn’t even give her lip about calling him a worm, and just put his head back down, or rather his whole body. “Wow it is that bad.” Rek’Sai carefully walked into the room and looked at the table. “Still trying to identify the tome?” Kog’Maw just nodded as best he could. Rek’Sai grabbed a snack with her tail, then forced Kog’Maw’s mouth open, fed him the snack, then held his mouth shut until he ate it. “Better?”

 

           “A bit. I just have no idea where it is. We need energy and I’m thinking of just going for that until we can get more information. I can task someone to go looking, but it will still be hard work.” Kog’Maw looked for some type of approval, and Rek’Sai nodded.

 

           “If you can’t find your target, then go with what you know. Pick out two minions. One to hunt for the tome, the other to get energy.” Rek’Sai finished her sentence and walked out, knowing she had done something to at least try and get his mood. Up. While they all didn’t like each other, they all tolerated each other, and they all needed everyone to work together because of how low their energy reserves were at the moment. Kog’Maw quickly looked at the map and decided that a major attack would be necessary but he wouldn’t use any Zzs. Taking Rek’Sai’s suggestion he made off through the palace looking for the two he knew he would need.

 

           After looking through the maze he finally found one of them. Irins was sitting watching space, which was unusual for her. She turned when she heard Kog’Maw approaching. “Irinis, I require your assistance. You are good at finding lost things so I have a task for you.”

 

           “What would that be?” Irinis’ voice betrayed her skepticism but she didn’t get outright hostile. Yet.

 

           “We need to locate Malzahar’s lost tome on the planet below, and you are the best person to find it. We have no leads, so it will be up to you.” Kog’Maw looked at her intently, and after a few seconds, Irinis relaxed.

 

           “How much time to I have?” She asked after stood up and stretched.

 

           “Honestly, just as quickly as possible. We need it and quickly.” Kog’Maw finished and while he didn’t turn to leave, he was tempted.

 

           “Very well. I’ll look for it and report back.” Irinis quickly opened a portal and vanished.

 

           “Well that was easier than expected, now where is Joen?” Kog’Maw quickly started looking around for the other minion he needed and found him in the training room. Joen was always training or sleeping. He looked like a tank but when he unleashed his attacks, they came in the form of energy pulses from his arms. Kog’Maw could see he was still hitting most of the targets.

 

           “Doing well there?” Joen asked as Kog’Maw approached him.

 

           “Mostly. I have need of you. We need energy and we need someone who can hold off the guardians for a longer period than lately.” Kog’Maw barely had time to finish before Joen spoke again.

 

           “Well then I guess let’s get going. Do you have a specific plan or should we just go with the flow?” Joen finished off one last target and then turned to face Kog’Maw.

 

           “I had nothing specific as I know you like to come up with your own plans.” Kog’Maw did in fact have a plan but was also not 100% confident on it.

 

           “Well then. Give me a day to scout the city and I’ll report back.” Joen ripped open a portal and vanished. Kog’Maw just stood stunned for a minute before coming back to his senses.

 

           “Well that was easier than I thought it would be.”

* * *

 

           As the day dragged on it was hard to even get a read on the three remaining, and Janna was getting frustrated. Because the remaining three had very different schedules it was difficult to get close enough to be able to identify them properly. Just when the day was ending, Janna knew that only one of them had been ruled out. As the last bell rang, Janna went to her locker and was prepared to tell Lux that she had again failed, when she ran, literally, into one of them, knocking both of them over.

 

           “Hey! Seriously watch it.” Janna looked up to see who she ran into. She checked and saw that it was one of the two they didn’t get to. Her hair was in two long bright blue pigtails and she looked equally annoyed and amused.

 

           “Sorry was thinking about something else.” Janna quickly said as she stood up and helped her up.

 

           “Whatever.” The girl quickly picked up her books, but Janna “accidently” grabbed one as an excuse to get a good read on her.

 

           “Sorry again but I grabbed this.” Janna held out the book and the girl turned around again. She smiled as she took the book and the briefest of contact with her skin told Janna everything, and she immediate knew this would be a problem. “Again sorry.” Janna quickly hustled out while the girl was looking at her funny but then shrugged and moved on. After rounding a corner, Janna found herself able to breathe again as she had been holding it in. She could see Dorcha looking at her through a vent and Janna nodded.

 

           Outside, Janna quickly scooped up Dorcha and Solas, while Zephyr hopped onto her shoulder. Janna quickly got another look at the girl and saw her pull two poros out of her back and set them on her shoulders as she walked off to somewhere. “Follow her. I’ll tell the others. They aren’t going to like this.” Dorcha and Solas nodded and quickly hopped off. Janna and Zephyr made for the tower to meet up with the rest of the team, the while time, Janna tried to think about she was going to say.

 

           Lux, Poppy, and Lulu waited for Janna, who was running later than usual. “Maybe she managed to find the fifth?” Poppy asked hopefully as the time ticked annoying along.

 

           “Hopefully. I am getting a bad feeling that we will need the help.” Both Lux and Poppy tuned to Lulu as she finished, and all three looked at each other. Lulu rarely was wrong, and either way, she was right. They had gotten lucky lately and it probably wouldn’t last much longer. Just when they lapsed back into thought did Janna finally come in, and the look on her face wasn’t good.

 

           “No luck then?” Lux asked.

 

           “Um…yes and no.” Zephyr quietly slipped off Janna’s shoulder as she spoke and Lux just sat back in her chair after Janna got that “it’s complicated” look on her face. Poppy and Lulu also turned to face Janna as she sat down.

 

           “Well this will be good.” Poppy said as she crossed her arms.

 

           “Yes we did find her, or rather I did after literally running into her, but that’s where the good news ends.” Janna reached into her bag and pulled out a yearbook from the previous year. “This is her. Don’t worry about her name, everyone just calls her Jinx. She’s a troublemaker, both intentionally and unintentionally. She just doesn’t like a lot of rules, likes to blow stuff up, and is frequently in trouble.” Janna looked up and the faces of her teammates were puzzled, annoyed, and curious.

 

           “She does have a soft spot however. She cares for animals and when push comes to shove, she’s usually reliable. She usually just needs a shove first in the right direction. One other issue that we might have is she doesn’t have any friends, or at least any that I’ve ever been able to see.” Janna just let her voice trail off

 

           “Well every team needs a crazy one and maybe we can be her friends.” Lulu said, and everyone else turned to her. She was just smiling and Poppy just shook her head.

 

           “Crazy isn’t something we need right now. But I guess we have little choice. Maybe I’ll be surprised.” Poppy was always the pessimist and Lux just put her head on the table.

 

           “Regardless of our feelings, this is what we are stuck with. And for once, we can get a teammate before we are engaged in a battle. Just how should we approach it?” Lux picked her head up as she spoke and leaned back in her chair thinking. Looking around, Lux saw Janna and Lulu were thinking, while Poppy just seemed resigned to her opinions. “Poppy, remember what you thought about Lulu?” Lux didn’t want to dredge up that topic, but it seemed to shake Poppy enough for her to sigh and nod.

 

           “Sorry.” Poppy just put her head down and also started to think.

 

           “Does anyone know where she lives?” Janna asked after about 10 minutes. Everyone just shook their heads. “I’m thinking that might be the best way. I could have Dorcha and Solas report where she lives and we could do it tomorrow or later tonight. I have them following her now.” Lux just nodded.

 

           “That’s probably the best plan. So tomorrow everyone?” There was a nod of consensus. “Ok then. That’s the plan.” The team got up and left while Lux and Janna set off to see where Jinx lived.

 

           Following Zephyr, who seemed to be able to find those two anywhere, it led them into a richer area of town. Eventually they both managed to spot the two in a tree. Solas saw them approach and poke Dorcha, who hopped down to join the two. “She lives there and from what we can tell alone. There’s a better view over here.” Dorcha pointed and they all rounded a corner where they could get a good look inside. Jinx was sitting at a table in what looked like the kitchen, and had a laptop open in front of her and just seemed to be browsing randomly. What Lux saw in the back gave her a bit of pause. There was a shed with some flammable markings on it, and there were more than a few burn patches in the grass.

 

           “Think she’s a pyromaniac?” Lux asked Janna, only to have Jinx come out a second later. They both hid in the bush and watched. Jinx headed over to the shed and carefully pulled a few things out, including a table and some chemicals they couldn’t read from where they were. For the next 20 minutes they watched her mix something then get a rocket from the shed. However, she paused and checked a pad of notes before opening the shell she put whatever she mixed in and after making a few adjustments, she resealed it and attached it to the rocket. “This can’t be good.” Lux and Janna already had their transformation tools ready but Jinx just placed the rocket in a concrete area of the yard and let the rocket fly. It exploded revealing a red firework. She seemed happy and headed back inside; after cleaning everything up first.

 

           “Well that wasn’t what I expected.” Janna said as they watched her pack up the laptop and head upstairs. Lux turned to Dorcha.

 

           “Keep an eye on her tonight and come back when she goes to bed. If she goes to bed.” Lux added as an afterthought. Then turning to Janna, Lux saw her face. “What?”

 

           “I swear I’ve seen that before.” Janna said as Lux just looked between where they last saw Jinx and Janna.

 

           “Probably since you see her every day.” Lux said as she took to her feet.

 

           “No I mean somewhere else. Maybe I’m just imagining it.” Janna finished and she stood up and followed Lux. They both headed back home and after they finished homework, Lux answering a few texts from Poppy about Jinx and finally just before she was about to give up, Dorcha and Solas hopped into the room.

 

           “About time, she finally went to sleep?” Lux kept her voice down since she was up way past when she wanted to be.

 

           “Yes. However, it isn’t all that bad. Since she had a few windows open we could hear what she was going on about. She plays the same games that you all do by the way, and rages appropriately. However, she lives alone there.” Lux just looked at Dorcha curiously, a bit taken aback by the information.

 

           “We hear her talking to her parents, who apparently are constantly on business, and judging by her reaction when she asked when they were coming home, it’s been like this for a while. It is really a bit sad.” Lux now was a bit torn and knew that even Poppy would break down at that. “She put those two poros she has on her bed before she turned in, but her expression wasn’t the same happy peppy one she had earlier. My guess she uses her pyro obsession to escape from what is going on.” Lux just sat back in her chair.

 

           “Well this might explain her behavior then. Hopefully we can help with that.” Lux finished and decided it was time for bed.

* * *

 

           The night saw Kog’Maw and Joen sitting on top of one of the skyscrapers downtown. “You have a plan?” Kog’Maw asked looking a bit nervous.

 

           “Not yet. I need one more day, but I’m close.” Joen replied as he smiled.

 

           “Good then. We can’t delay much longer.” Kog’Maw was about to go back to the moon when Irinis appeared. “Your report?” Kog’Maw asked turning away from where he was going to summon the portal.

 

           “No luck today. I will need more time. I can barely find evidence of who took it. There is a lot to sort through. I’ll report when I have more. I felt you were here so I figured I would say something.” Kog’Maw looked at Irinis and sighed.

 

           “Very well then. Keep me informed.” Kog’Maw ripped open a portal and disappeared through it. Irinis and Joen disappeared shortly after.

* * *

 

           The following morning saw Lux awaken with more energy than she thought she would have. Looking to see Dorcha and Solas still asleep, despite her alarm, she carefully got out of bed and after coming back from grabbing a bit of breakfast, they were still sleeping. “Ok sleepyheads get up.” Lux poked them both awake. They both just yawned and looked at Lux with annoyance. “Sorry but you both have to go with Janna today remember?” They both sighed and nodded.

 

           Lux changed and headed out the door to school, after putting the two in her pack since they didn’t leave early enough to get to Janna’s before she left. Lux waited for either Amy or Janna to show up and luckily Janna did first. Dorcha and Solas quickly hopped backpacks just before Amy rounded the corner.

 

           “Oh sorry Lux I thought you were waiting for me?” Lux just smiled.

 

           “No harm if Janna walks with us right?” Amy just smiled. The three walked to school talking about anything except the void and the recent attacks. In fact, it was probably the most normal conversation that Lux and Janna have had in a while. When they reached Grove, Janna split off and headed to the high school while Lux and Amy went inside. As Lux looked around, she saw Poppy and Lulu come in after and both nodded saying they were waiting until the end to put their plan into motion.

 

           To say the school day dragged on would be an understatement. Lux and Poppy at times swore their phones were broken with how slowly time passed. Lulu was of course in her own world, but even Poppy caught her looking at her phone time and again. By the time lunch came around, it seemed like it should be dinner.

 

           Janna had a bit easier of a day because she was keeping tabs on not only Jinx, but Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr as well. Who were also keeping tabs on Jinx. As the morning moved on, they switched off keeping an eye on Jinx, since Janna couldn’t except in the hallways. The amount of movement she did was annoying because she frequently would be either late to class, or in one case, ditch it all together. When lunch finally came, Janna saw Jinx leave the building and she decided to follow her rather than met the rest of the team.

 

           As Jinx walked across the field behind the school, Janna tried to keep her distance as to avoid being noticed, but that would get hard very quickly. Fortunately, Janna didn’t have to follow as Jinx took a seat under a tree and pulled her lunch, and her two pets from her bag. They were black and white like Dorcha and Solas, but they were much smaller. Jinx just sat and enjoyed herself in the shade, while Janna headed off to meet the team.

 

           “So keeping an eye on her then?” Poppy asked as Janna finally joined them.

 

           “Yeah, she is definitely unique. At least with her, given her attitude, if we have to get yanked out of class for a fight, she won’t be missed. I’m still not sure about her, but she seemed to be relaxed now.” Janna pointed over her shoulder at Jinx who was just relaxing under the tree. “I guess later today will be a tell.” Janna pulled her lunch and started eating as she clearly didn’t want to talk anymore.

 

           “Just to clarify and state it again, we all head for the tower after school, and then to her place. We’ll just have to survive the rest of the day.” Lux’s voice dropped as she finished, knowing that would be harder than she expected. Everyone just sort of hung their heads and sighed. They all just ate quietly after that while Poppy and Lux took turns keeping an eye on Jinx.

 

           As the afternoon classes started, keeping an eye on Jinx became a nightmare for Dorcha, Solas, and Zephyr. Her classes went from one end of the building to the other and while she at least went to them, she clearly wasn’t interested. When the final bell rang, she was almost the first one out as everyone headed for home. Janna watched her go, and after Dorcha and Solas nodded, she and Zephyr headed for the tower. It didn’t take long for Janna to almost literally run into the rest of the team as she was in her own world.

 

           “Janna? Janna!” Poppy’s voice cut through Janna’s mind like a knife and she turned to see the others standing there. Janna just shrugged and joined them. “Was the afternoon any better?” Janna just shook her head in reply and Poppy just pursed her lips in frustration. When they finally got to the tower, they found Vel’Koz waiting for them.

 

           “I told him and I asked him to wait for us.” Lux said as she dropped her bag and pulled out her locket.

 

           “My suggestion is take it slowly as there could be any sort of reaction. I’ll be waiting here for you return. Nasus is waiting for all of you in the dock. Good luck Guardians.” Vel’Koz turned to the globe and a large sheet of paper next to him. Knowing that he would tell them when he was ready, Janna, Poppy, and Lulu all put their things down and pulled their pendants.

 

           “Ready?” Lux looked between everyone, and they all nodded.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Once they were transformed, they all grabbed the cloaks, Lux grabbing an extra one for Jinx, and they headed down to where Nasus was waiting with a new long car. Lux just looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

 

           “Vel’Koz was getting tired of the van.” Nasus replied as he got into the driver’s seat while the team got in the back. Once they were all in, Nasus pulled out and after taking the briefest glance at Poppy’s directions, began driving. In the back, the team pulled down their hoods for the drive.

 

           “So what are we going to say?” Lulu asked as she looked between everyone else. Lux just had her head in her hands, Janna was looking out the window in thought, and Poppy was just looking grim, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary.

 

           “I’m not sure, we’ll just take it one step at a time. We’ll have to see. We’ve been winging it ever sense, so I think we should just go with that. I’m going to avoid the whole “save the world” argument.” Lux let her voice trail off as she leaned back in the seat.

 

           “I’d also just go with the truth and be blunt about it. I talked with a few people and they said she’s exceedingly blunt but honest most of the time. She also hates betting around the bush.” Janna turned from the window to look at the rest of the team. Poppy gave a brief smile as she heard that knowing that was a bit helpful.

 

           “I hope you have resolved everything because we’re here. I’ll wait here for all of you.” Nasus said as he lowered the divider.

 

           “You sure this isn’t a problem? Or you will get bored?” Lux poked her head up to the divider and saw a TV screen coming out from the dash.

 

           “You think I’m going to be bored? I got my modifications in here too. Besides this is better than some of the paperwork. Don’t worry about me. This way, if something doesn’t get done, Vel can’t blame me since he asked me to do this.” Nasus gave a chuckle as the team laughed as well.

 

           “Ok then, let’s go everyone.” The team pulled their hoods up as the left the long car. Since it was still a bit early, there was no one around, or at least no one they could see. Lux looked to see Dorcha and Solas in the tree, and they hopped down to join the team. Lux took one last deep breath and then they headed for the door. Lux knocked as they got up to it. Jinx was quick to answer but looked confused.

 

           “Um…Harrowing is still months away so…” Jinx was clearly confused but didn’t close the door. Lux lifted her head just enough for Jinx to catch the tiara and Jinx stood back. “Well this is special. Shiro, Kuro we have visitors.” Janna, being the last in, closed the door behind her. The team pulled their hoods down. “So what can I do for all of you?” Jinx’s voice didn’t betray her feelings but it was clear that she was confused. She sat down at a table in the kitchen. Janna, Poppy, and Lulu started drawing all of the shades and blinds.

 

           “Well you know the attacks lately?” Lux said as she took a seat opposite her. Jinx nodded.

          

           “It’s kind of all over the news. So it’s hard to miss.” Lux was a bit annoyed with the sarcasm in Jinx’s voice but pushed past it.

 

           “Well do you know what happened with the previous Guardians?” Lux looked up as Jinx did a good job of faking to remember.

 

           “Didn’t they all get destroyed in an explosion or something?” Janna just shook her head behind Jinx.

 

           “Well yes and no. Because of the magical barriers around our planet, the powers never left, they stayed and settled us. And you.” Lux pointed to Poppy, Lulu, and herself, before pointing to Jinx, who just sat there dumbfounded. Finally, just she started laughing.

 

           “Please, there is no way I’m a Star Guardian. Don’t you have to be all good, moral, and everything? Be all noble and that?” Jinx was clearly thinking this was a joke but she stopped laughing when Lux didn’t reply. “Oh you are serious aren’t you.” Jinx’s voice turned from hyper to curious, to eventually realization.

 

           “Yes I am. We didn’t ask for this, but we are stuck with it. We need our fifth teammate Jinx, and that’s you. None of us were ready for this, but we’ve been dealing with it.” Lux paused to let it sink in and Jinx just sat there, pondering. Eventually she just stood up and started pacing. Shiro and Kuro, her pets had joined them at this point. Jinx finally just turned to Lux.

 

           “Why me?”

 

           “We don’t know. Clearly there is some larger plan at work, but we have no idea. We can transfer the powers to someone else, but not right now. We are all the defense this planet has.” Lux let that sink in as Jinx sat back down on one of the chairs and began looking between the four of them.

 

           “Uh…thinking hard, and annoying.” Jinx just put her head in her hands. Lux was now more nervous than ever, and they knew that they couldn’t force it, so they just had to wait it out and that wasn’t easy. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Jinx picked her head up.

 

           “Will I be able to blow stuff up?” Her voice was hopeful and excited. Lux just shook her head.

 

           “No idea. Each of us didn’t know what our powers would be before we transformed for the first time so I have no idea. I’m assuming that’s a yes?” It was a question, and Jinx just nodded. Dorcha and Solas hopped up onto the table and conjured up the contract which landed in front of Jinx. Shiro and Kuro were looking at it with intent, and Jinx just briefly read it over before signing it.

 

           “You aren’t even going to read it?” Janna asked from the doorway.

 

           “Yeah TL:DR. Most of this can probably be summed up as “don’t do anything stupid.”” Lux, who had actually read the contract, was now fighting back a bit of laughter. In essence, Jinx was right, but there was a lot that she wasn’t getting.

 

           “You do realize that we can hold you to this if necessary?” Dorcha said, still in a bit of disbelief.

 

           “Yeah, whatever, let’s just get on with it.” Dorcha just sighed, defeated. She rolled up the contract and it transformed into Jinx’s pendant. Lux was very curious when it materialized as it looked like two crossed guns.

 

           “Sweet. Now how does this work?” Jinx took a moment to examine it before turning to Lux.

 

           “Holding it and saying “Star Guardian Power Up”.” Lux stood up and waited. Janna, Poppy, and Lulu were watching intently.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” This time all of them noticed something different. Something inside of them. It was power, raw power. Jinx was clearly the heavy hitter and while that was comforting, it was also a bit scary. None of them were convinced that she was stable.

 

           When Jinx’s transformation was done, she looked extremely different from the rest. The biggest change was her hair had gone from bright blue to fire red and she had two almost hair ties around the base of them near her head. Her outfit was also a change. Jinx had more of a halter top, exposing her stomach, with almost a cape coming out of bottom of it. A red bow decorated the center. Her gloves were fingerless and one was black while the other white, and they came up to her elbows. Instead of a skirt in her color, Jinx had dark red shorts with a black belt. Her boots were also different. While they came up to mid-thigh like Lux and Janna, they were white on the “shoe” part while the part that ran up her legs were black. Jinx only needed one look at herself to know it was something she liked.

 

           “Well this is different, and awesome, but seriously the glitter” Jinx said as she brushed it off her. Meanwhile the rest of them just stood there and were confused as can be.

 

           “Well I guess every team needs someone different.” Poppy said as she leaned against the doorframe. Jinx just stuck her tongue out but smiled.

 

           “Yeah, I guess. Now what about my weapons?” Lux turned to the table and saw Kuro on the table looking at what was clearly a minigun. “Uh…Kuro where’s Shiro?” Kuro just hopped on top of the gun. Now everyone was confused. Jinx walked to the table and picked up the gun and promptly dropped it. “Wow! That was weird.” Jinx waved her hand and suddenly Shiro was back, where the gun had been, and Kuro, who was still on the table now resembled a rocket launcher. “Sweet!” Jinx’s voice had almost hunger in it.

          

           “Before we blow up your house, how about we take this some place where we can control the damage?” Lux managed to grab Jinx’s arm as she grabbed the rocket launcher. Jinx paused for a second then nodded. She closed her eyes for a second and Kuro reappeared but Shiro didn’t transform.

 

           “Here, take this.” Janna gave over the extra cloak and Jinx carefully put it on, then grabbed a few things, including her bag, and after taking a last look, carefully closed the door behind her. As they got into the long car, Nasus turned.

 

           “Well that was faster than expected.” Nasus looked at Jinx, who had pulled her hood down, and Jinx showed no surprise. Clearly she had been to the library before, or this was the least weirdest thing about today. Once they were back at the Library, Jinx followed the rest into the tower, where Vel’Koz was waiting. Now Jinx was surprised.

 

           “Wait, he’s from the void, why is he helping us?” Jinx apparently had little control over what she said, but then Lux was just as surprised the first time.

 

           “Because I chose to, well eventually. It’s easy to make that decision when you’ve been abandoned and no one cares to come back for you. I’m guessing you’ve seen Nasus but never me?” Vel’Koz held out a tentacle and Jinx shook it. “Vel’Koz.”

 

           “Just call me Jinx. So about that collateral damage?” Lux just pointed to the ceiling.   


           “Come on.” Lux hung up the cloak, followed by Jinx, and they headed up stairs.

 

           “Well she’s not a stabilizing element.” Vel’Koz kept his speech confined to Janna, Poppy, and Lulu as he turned to them.

 

           “Yeah, but I’m waiting to see what she does. I was reminded I’ve been wrong before.” Lulu gave Poppy a quick hug as the latter finished, and Poppy returned the hug. “Let’s just see.”

 

           “I’m coming up as well. This should be good.” Nasus followed Lux and Jinx up the stairs while the rest of the team followed. It appeared Lux and Jinx were waiting for them as everyone crowded into the second floor. “Ready?” Nasus asked as he took position near the controls. Lux and Jinx nodded, as Shiro transformed into the minigun. Nasus pulled a lever and the system started.

 

           Jinx either used guns, or her powers allowed her to be skilled as she was very controlled and accurate. When Nasus saw this, he pushed a button and a swarm came out and Jinx just opened up.

 

           “Switch.” Lux called and Jinx swapped to Kuro and was just as accurate. Poppy was impressed as there was finally someone else to do the damage apart from Lux. Once the sequence was finished, Jinx turned to Lux.

 

           “Sweet! What’s next.” Jinx didn’t have to wait long as a blue energy was in her left hand. Jinx just held her arm out and it shot out at one of the training dummies. “Cool. Let’s try that again.” Jinx took a better stance as it had almost knocked her over and then produced the beam again. “Zap! Oh man this is awesome. Can I get a moving target?” Jinx turned to Nasus, who pressed a button and Jinx walked onto the floor and after a second, a grenade materialized in her hand, which she threw in the dummy’s path, and it multiplied to three and they clamped down on the dummy before exploding and releasing it.

 

           “Well just your most powerful ability left. I’m guessing that you should probably aim for that.” Lux pointed to a large dummy in the corner and Jinx nodded.

 

           “Why?”

 

           “Because there are damping spells around it to prevent whatever from going through the wall.” Lux finished Jinx just stood there.

 

           “Whatever.” Jinx stood for a moment before Shiro transformed they both came together into one massive rocket launcher. “Oh this is cool. Let’s see” Jinx paused for a second to aim. “Double Trouble!” Jinx launched a massive rocket and it detonated against the target, leaving glitter everywhere. Even Jinx was surprised at the power. “Wow, I’m guessing that isn’t something we should be using every second?”

 

           “No just when we need to. Come back, unless you want to practice a bit more?” Lux paused before heading back downstairs with rest. Jinx followed last, after Shiro and Kuro were back to themselves.

 

           “I’m good.” Jinx followed closely behind as they entered the bottom of the tower.

 

           “We now you get to see the real us. Power down.” Lux powered down and the rest of the team followed. Jinx waited a second before joining them. “Lux” she said as she held out her hand. Jinx shook it.

 

           “Janna.”

 

           “Poppy.”

 

           “Lulu.” Lulu of course had to give Jinx a hug, which made her a bit uncomfortable, but she let up after a second.

 

           “Well I guess you all have some secret way to contact each other then?” After everything, Jinx was still enthusiastic. Which was both worrying and refreshing. How she would hold up in battle was the only remaining question.

 

           “No just our phones. We don’t need anything else.” Jinx looked a bit put down, but still walked over and pulled her phone and they all added each other. “Great. Now hopefully we can get another day to practice before Kog’Maw attacks again. We’ll all meet here after school tomorrow and we can hopefully come up with something.” It was clear that Jinx wanted to say something but she but her lip, at least for now. “See you all tomorrow then.”

 

           As everyone left, Jinx stayed behind, and Lux hung back. “Something wrong?”

 

           “It’s just why me? I mean I can tell that I’m no you or anyone else.” Jinx just paced but it was clearly bothering her.

 

           “We don’t know. All we know is this is what is the issue now, so either we deal with it, or we all lose.” Lux kept her tone gentle but knew that Jinx didn’t seem to have the ability to take anything seriously, unless pushed, but that would take time. “Just when we fight, watch the collateral damage.” Lux tried to end it on an upbeat note, and Jinx perked up.

 

           “No promises.” Jinx laughed as she left and Lux followed her out. The evening passed in relative peace but Lux was still worried. She was looking outside at the moon when Dorcha hopped up next to her.

 

           “Worried about Jinx?” Dorcha always seemed to have the ability to sense exactly what she was thinking.

 

           “Yeah. She just seems to not take anything seriously and I’m worried about when we fight, she won’t be able to reign it in and focus. I don’t know, I wasn’t expecting this.” Lux turned and slumped down against the wall.

 

           “Well then, we’ll just have to teach other. I mean look at Lulu, she still spaces out from time to time. Poppy is just way too serious and often makes rash judgements and is quick to pick a fight. Janna is more like you, but even then you take things too seriously at times. Maybe a fresh, more lively experience is needed. Don’t assume anything right now. Let’s see how her fight fights goes, but I think we are all nervous.” Lux turned and gave Dorcha a scratch on the head and smiled.

 

           “I suppose you are right. I’m probably overthinking it.” Lux smiled again and crawled into bed.

* * *

 

           As Kog’Maw surveyed the city, Joen was beside him as he explained his plan. “Tomorrow I plan to use the fact people are trapped in offices to drain their energy. By planting collectors in the lobbies of various buildings, I will draw their energy tomorrow from the bottom up so even if people try and escape, they won’t.

 

           “Good job. Now be sure to be prepared for those pesky guardians. They will no doubt interfere.” Kog’Maw turned and his voice carried with it a note of annoyance.

 

           “I will be. They can’t get them all, so I decided to go with acceptable losses.” Joen seemed proud of himself and Kog’Maw nodded.

 

           “Good. I met with Irinis already and she isn’t any closer so we must move forward with this. I will be waiting.” Kog’Maw ripped open a portal and disappeared. Joen looked over the city one more time, before going through the portal as well.

* * *

 

           The following morning saw the team wake up and everything was still normal. That wasn’t good as they had a few days since the last one and in-between attacks of this length, they were always bad. Lux looked at her phone and saw nothing about attacks so she headed downstairs to see a note from her mother saying she left early and Garen was gone as well. With her father out, Lux took her time getting ready.

 

           No sooner was she out of the house, did the air feel cold. “Well crap.” Lux barely had to reach for her phone before everyone but Jinx texted back saying they felt it as well. Jinx’s text was more humorous.

 

           ‘so whats with the chill running down my spine?’

 

           ‘the void is attacking’ Poppy beat Lux to the punch.

 

           ‘oh so what do we do?’ Lux got to it before Poppy this time.

 

           ‘head to the tower’ Lux put her phone back in her bag and sprinted off towards the tower. Arriving first, Lux waited for everyone else while studying the map with Vel’Koz. Janna was second, followed by Jinx, then Poppy, and finally Lulu.

 

           “They are hitting multiple office towers downtown. Likely trying to get as much energy as possible. Whoever is doing this is spreading out over a wide area. You won’t be able to stop them all, so you have to minimalize the damage.” Vel’Koz said as Lux turned to the team.

 

           “Ready?” Lux looked at each and they all nodded.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Once they were ready, Lux looked at the map again. “Janna you head for Trim Tower, Poppy Ranis Place, Lulu Yak Tower, Jinx you are with me. Just for now.” Lux added as she saw Jinx’s face fall a bit. “Do you know what to shoot?” Jinx just smiled and shrugged in reply. “Let’s go!”

 

           “Just one second. Here, take these.” Vel’Koz passed around what looked like large phones with straps so they could attach them to their arms. “It’s something I’ve been working on for a while now and well I guess now is the best time to test them. They are able to link into our system here to track attacks and cold spikes. You can use them to mark buildings clear so you aren’t rushing around blind.” Vel’Koz handed the devices over and the team grabbed them. Once they all hand them strapped to their arms, the team sprinted out and into the fight, finally splitting up once they were downtown.

 

           Lux and Jinx headed for Umia Tower and once there they saw Zzs moving orbs through a portal. Jinx didn’t even to be told to shoot. Lux threw a singularity while Jinx opened up with Shiro and they both immediately shredded the Zzs. “Shoot the orbs!” Lux yelled and Jinx switched fire and shattered the ones remaining in the lobby. Lux sent out another singularity, but the Zzs didn’t go for the portal, they instead headed right for Jinx.

 

           “Ok then. Bring it on!” Jinx switched to Kuro and opened up with the rockets, destroying the Zzs in a few shots. Lux ran back to her position and smiled.

 

           “Just watch the damage. Here.” Lux pressed the screen on the device and the building turned green. “Once you are in the area, destroy the Zzs, yes that’s what they are called,” Jinx almost started laughing and even Lux had to admit now that she thought about it, it was a funny name. “So destroy the Zzs, force them to retreat through the portal, don’t go through yourself, and shatter the orbs. Then mark the building green by touching it apparently, and wait for…oh.” Lux turned to see police cars already coming up.

 

           “Secure the lobby and check on everyone inside.” The officers quickly ran inside while one stayed to make sure no one else entered. “Just wait for the police to arrive and while they know what to do, you need to make sure that no Zzs come back. OK?”

 

           “So shoot the small purple things, destroy the orbs, then wait for the cops. Got it.” Jinx checked the map and headed off.

 

           “Watch the collateral damage as well.” Lux yelled as Jinx sprinted away and she just waved her hand over her head as a reply. “Why do I have a feeling this will end badly?” Lux turned and headed off towards the next building.

* * *

 

           Janna didn’t need to wait long for her reinforcements as Debonair always seemed to find her first. She was barely at Trim tower for three minutes, destroying Zzs and orbs, before Debonair announced his arrival by blasting some Zzs that were sneaking up on her.

 

           “How do you always find me first?” Janna asked as she threw a shield over Debonair as the Zzs turned to him.

 

           “What can I say, purple is my favorite color.” He yelled back as he destroyed more Zzs while Janna shattered the orbs remaining. The Zzs then fled through a portal before they could all be destroyed. Debonair moved to join Janna. “What’s going on?”

 

           “Wide scale attack. Distribute losses so we have to move fast. Luckily we have five now.” Debonair looked a bit surprised as he retracted the helmet a bit.

 

           “You find your fifth? Good.” He turned to move to the next building as Janna waved the police over.

 

           “Yeah but she’s…not a stabilizing element.” Janna said as she moved off as well after making the building green.

* * *

 

           Poppy was almost having fun as she destroyed Zzs and orbs as she got in their faces to stop more orbs from going through the portal. While she wasn’t able to stop the first wave, or second, the third group was devastated as she managed to use one sweeping hammer strike to shatter eight orbs at once. The Zzs then turned to flee.

 

           “Oh no you don’t, get back here.” Poppy charged forward, destroying a few and used her hammer to take out more. She kept moving around and destroying Zzs and preventing more orbs from making it through. However, the Zzs weren’t making it easy as one group swarmed over her while another tried to move more orbs through the portal. Poppy charged again and managed to get a lot of the Zzs, who then changed their tactics.

 

           “Well this will be good.” Poppy saw them charging right at her and she just dug her heals in, then charged, destroying Zz after Zz as she rushed through the lot of them and ending up in the lobby of the building, where she took her hammer, swung wide, and shattered all of the remaining orbs. “Here we GO!” Poppy yelled as she hit the collector and while it wasn’t destroyed, it did end up with a rather large dent in its side and clearly no longer in working order.

 

           Poppy turned to see the remaining Zzs fleeing through a portal and Poppy just smiled knowing she couldn’t get them. Once the portal closed, Poppy checked the device on her arm, marked another building clear and proceeded towards another. As she was leaving she saw the police and paramedics moving in.

* * *

 

           Yak tower was one of the oddest towers in downtown, both in design and where it was, but that was no deterrent to the Zzs as they were swarming out of the building carrying orbs.

 

           “Well Pix, let’s go.” Lulu said to her companion and Pix just squeaked in reply. Lulu then skipped towards the horde, which clearly didn’t see her coming. “Zippy!” Lulu sped herself up and charged into them, throwing both her glittlerlance and Pix providing a shield. The Zzs exploded with one or the other as Lulu moved gracefully through them. The Zzs attempted to jump her and either missed her completely, bounced off Pix’s shield or were destroyed by it. Lulu was almost floating through the air as she almost danced around, throwing lances, and dodging around the Zzs who seemed to be desperate to lock her down. Eventually though, Lulu’s luck ran out.

 

           In a lucky strike, one of the Zzs managed to scratch her leg, and Lulu was knocked off her dance and she tumbled to the ground. Stunned briefly, Lulu managed to get to her feet and dodge out of the way as a small horde of Zzs attempted to tackle her to the ground. “Help Pix!” Lulu called and Pix jumped to her side and shielded her while Lulu threw out more lances and attempted to get back into her groove, but she couldn’t. Another Zz managed to get a strike onto her arm and Lulu’s face turned sour.

 

           “Up we go!” Lulu cast the power and she tripped her size. Now the Zzs were running. “Zippy!” Lulu sped herself up, and then threw more lances and disintegrated huge swaths of Zzs and eventually managed to get to the building itself and just before she shrunk back to her normal size, she fired off a few lances into the building and shattered the orbs that the Zzs hadn’t managed to get through yet. Immediately the Zzs responded and made a break for the portal. Lulu went off after them and managed to get a few more before the portal closed.

 

           Lulu waved over the police, who were waiting behind a barricade and they quickly moved in to secure the area. Lulu started skipping away before she remembered to mark the building, and after checking the map headed off to the next building.

* * *

 

           As Lux rounded the corner on the Obern Tower, she saw that she was almost too late. The orbs were being carried through the portal were clearly the last ones and the Zzs were already retreating. Lux, getting desperate, threw a singularity to try and get at least something, but the singularity only caught the tail end of the Zzs and one orb. The Zzs didn’t even bother to turn around and in fact they just sped up and disappeared through the portal.

 

           Lux just hung her head and knew that taking Jinx along instead of splitting up cost them one of the locations but given the number of locations that were under attack, it was probably going to happen. Given the fact that Janna had already cleared a second location, it was clear they were running out of targets. What worried her was the fact they hadn’t seen Kog’Maw or whoever he had drafted to help him, or both. It was really starting to worry her.

 

           Still though there was more to do, and Lux waved over the waiting responders, marked the map and headed towards Hub Tower, since it was the closest, and currently the only one that wasn’t already being attended to. Also because Jinx was moving to it and Lux was worried that she’d be jumped by the minion.

* * *

 

           Jinx rounded the corner on Hub Tower and saw the area littered with Zzs. “Ok Shiro let’s get them.” Shiro transformed into the minigun and she closed the distance before firing, remembering what Lux said. Once she was close enough to ensure she wouldn’t miss, she opened fire. Instantly a massive amount of Zzs disintegrated. Kuro squeaked as Jinx was more careful than she would normally be in this situation, where she would normally go blasting everything in sight.

 

           The Zzs turned and immediately tried to rush Jinx, but she just switched to Kuro and opened up with her rockets, which exploded with a shower of glitter. However, it wasn’t enough for the horde as they continued charging. Jinx dodged off to the side and switched back to Shiro and blasted them from the side, hitting a lot of them from the side. Jinx had to move again as the horde turned, but as they were Jinx remembered she had to destroy the orbs, which were now exposed.

 

           “Hey losers, forget something.” Jinx dodged again, switched to Kuro, and fired a few rockets at the orbs, which shattered into thousands of pieces. The Zzs, now turned their full attention to Jinx, who kept moving and dodging but was starting to get overwhelmed. “Well this isn’t going well” Jinx muttered as the horde turned again to follow her and just when it looked liked she was going to be overwhelmed, a large amount of Zzs suddenly exploded and Jinx turned to see Lux running towards her.

 

           “Duck!” Jinx turned to see why. Jinx dodged to the side and landed a bit harder than she would have liked, but the Zzs didn’t managed to get a scratch in as Lux threw her baton and generated her barrier. Jinx got back on her feet and opened fire with Shiro and Kuro before she was back on the ground again as something collided with the barrier enough to cause it to reflect back. Jinx turned to see Lux was also on the ground and after quickly looking around she saw why. Something was standing near the portal which all of the Zzs were now fleeing through.

 

           “Well it seems that the fifth guardian is a bit trigger happy. Also not very good at what she is supposed to be doing.” Joen taunted Jinx, and it worked as Jinx leapt back to her feet and opened fire, only to have it reflected back, though Lux managed to shield the damage with her barrier again. Jinx was about to fire again when Lux put her hand on her shoulder and Jinx paused, turned, the  hung her head a bit.

 

           “Don’t?”

 

           “Don’t.” Lux said as she turned to face Joen. Immediately his blasters took her notice but what Joen didn’t see is Lux calling for help. “So it seems we have found the mastermind. I’m going to be nice today and give you a chance to run before we all defeat you in what will be a very embarrassing fight.” Lux was far from her usual script and was actively taunting. Jinx was barely controlling her laughter, but as she looked around she saw both Poppy and Lulu moving in, but keeping out of sight. Jinx took a step away from Lux, and switched back to Shiro.

 

           “So there are only two of you. I still have you outnumbered.” Joen had his arms crossed and was looking at Lux and Jinx with almost annoyance.

 

           “2 against 1 is what I’d call outnumbered but sure you can have it your way. We are the Star Guardians after all. Sworn to defend the universe against all that would throw it into chaos. And that means you.” Jinx was almost laughing again, but she saw that Poppy and Lulu were moving and she managed to put two and two together.

 

           “Really? You have no help around so what are you going to do? I have minions all over the city and you don’t.” Joen looked satisfied with himself, but Jinx just smiled.

 

           “Really? What about me?” Jinx yelled as she shot her Zap at him and that allowed Poppy and Lulu to both connect before he had a chance to move or even register they were there. Lulu sped Poppy up, and fired a glitterlance, while Poppy just charged into Joen and knocked him to the ground. Poppy then swung her hammer as Joen was getting back to his feet, knocking him down again. Joen yelled and turned to Poppy and fired. The problem was Janna and Debonair had appeared. Janna shielded Poppy while Lux shielded Debonair as he also swung his hammer into Joen, disrupting his aim and sending him into another fit of rage.

 

           Wheeling around, Joen tried to hit Debonair with some of his firepower, only to get a rocket and lances to the face from Jinx, who had a shield provided by Pix. Poppy and Debonair kept the fight close using their hammers while Lux, Janna, Lulu, and Jinx stayed around the perimeter and kept up the long range pressure with shields and binds, shields and twisters, lances and shields, and bullets and rockets respectively. Lux kept looking at Jinx who was clearly having fun and worried about her self-control, and no sooner did she think it than did she see Jinx lose some control and almost hit Poppy with a burst. However, neither Jinx or Poppy said anything as they were more absorbed in the fight.

 

           A second later, Jinx took a shot directly at Poppy and Lux started to panic, only to have Poppy move out of the way at the last second, resulting in the burst hitting Joen full in the face as he tried to get a shot off at them. Clearly Jinx was stilled in aiming and seemed to fall into the rhythm of the fight, and while she clearly did have some control issues, it might just be her. Lux just breathed a sigh of relief and kept the pressure up, eventually she managed to see an opportunity and managed to get a look to Poppy who nodded.

 

           Poppy went in for a charge, and Joen got a few shots at her but Lux shielded the damage and then Poppy hit Joen in the legs knocking him to the ground. Debonair transformed his weapon and fired a few pulses while Janna knocked him into the air with a twister. Finally, Lux fired a binding and Joen, and then turned to Jinx.

 

           “Let him have it!” Lux yelled at Jinx, and she just nodded. But before she could fire, Jinx had to roll out of the way as an acid bomb exploded where she had just been standing. They all turned to see Kog’Maw charging at them and Jinx threw her chompers out. Not knowing what they were Kog’Maw laughed as he walked through them, and immediately regretted it as they clamped down, then exploded in his face. Roaring in rage, he found himself under fire from Jinx and Lulu who had peeled out of the fight to deal with Kog’Maw who was clearly not expecting 5 Guardians, let alone one who just kept peppering him with bullets.

 

           Lux kept up the focus on Joen, which was made easier by the fact that he was still very much disoriented by the number of things that just hit him a few moments before. Joen managed to shake himself back to some semblance of order however only to get hit with a singularity to the face, and a few energy pulses to boot. Joen turned and managed to get in a few shots at Poppy, who dodged a few, took a few on her armor, but one shot managed to get in between the plates and hit her leg. Poppy rolled to the side, and Janna managed to shield her from further harm.

 

           Not to be put out of a fight however, Poppy got right back up, and even though it was clear that she was in pain, she still charged right at Joen, and charged up her hammer. Once she was close enough, she brought it down to the ground and sent Joen flying into the air, landing right on top of Kog’Maw. Jinx and Lulu, who had been battling Kog’Maw, just stopped and stood there for a second before Lux managed to run over and tap Jinx on the shoulder.

 

           “Oh right!” Jinx combined Shiro and Kuro and put the entire launcher on her shoulder. “Better Together!” Jinx fired the rocket and it hit the two. Kog’Maw was sent flying backwards, and while Joen was sent flying, he didn’t go nearly as far, landing about 1/3rd of the distance Kog’Maw was sent. Kog’Maw also was blasted into a building and was again disoriented. “Sweet!”

 

           “You won’t defeat me that easily!” Joen roared as he stood back up.

 

           “Transmogulate!” Lulu yelled and Joen was turned into a lovely little animal, and hopped around, clearly in frustration. Jinx couldn’t hold it in anymore and was on the ground laughing at the sight. When Joen transformed back, Jinx got back to her feet, but was still snickering.

 

           “You have embarrassed me long enough guardians. Now you will feel my wrath!” Joen charged up his pulse cannons and fired, only to have everyone dodge out of the way, and the pulses go wild and off into the sky. Lux threw a binding, but Joen dodged out of the way of it and came charging right at her. Lux threw up a shield to protect herself but about 10 feet from her, he stopped and yelled. Jinx had managed to throw her chompers in his path, and they clearly hurt when they clamped down. Lux not wasting any time stood up and pulled her baton.

 

           “Final Spark!” Lux threw her powers into the beam, and Joen disintegrated into a pile of dust. “Well now that he’s done with, let’s deal with the other one.” Lux pointed to Kog’Maw who only seemed to be just getting back his senses. The team rushed over, but before any of them could do anything, Kog’Maw, clearly not wanting to fight a full powered team, opened a portal, and vanished through it. That however didn’t stop Jinx from firing a bit as the portal closed. Lux just gave her an angry look, and Jinx just smiled and shrugged. Lux just shook her head and turned to see Caitlyn walking over. Jinx slid behind Janna as Caitlyn got close and Janna just looked curious.

 

           “So it seems you’ve found everyone, I hope this means that future attacks will be resolved sooner?” Caitlyn was looking between the Guardians, as Debonair had already made his escape.

 

           “Hopefully, but no promises. We’ll do the best we can.” Lux kept her voice neutral, but upbeat and Caitlyn smiled.

 

           “Well then, just keep practicing together and get it right. I can’t tell you how much it means to see a team of five. We’ll start the cleanup.” Caitlyn turned to see police and EMTs moving in and Lux nodded to the rest of the team, who all started running for the tower. Jinx followed, clearly still not fully aware of what was going on. Once back at the tower, the team powered down and Janna turned to Jinx.

 

           “Problems with the police?” Janna asked.

 

           “Well…let’s just say I’ve blown up a few too many things in my backyard.” Jinx just smiled as she took one of her pigtails and swung it around, clearly nervous.

 

           “You do realize that when you are transformed, your identity is protected right? Or did we forget to mention that.” It wasn’t a question and Jinx just stuck her tongue out as a response. Lux, Poppy, and Lulu all just laughed.

 

           “Ok settle down. We did good today but we still have a problem. We don’t know how much energy they got away with.” Lux sat down as she talked, clearly worried despite the laugh.

 

           “I can give an estimate on that. They got away with enough to do serious damage. How much exactly, it is hard to say, but if they were to launch another attack against our barriers, it would collapse them completely. That said, you prevented even more damage because we still don’t know who much energy they need to recover from the last attack. We know their energy reserves were dangerously low and that did recover a bit, but they are probably still a lot worse than they would like them to be.” Vel’Koz finished and floated over to the table.

 

           “Well we just have to keep going then. Hopefully we can track down the other artifacts before they can. Any progress?” Janna turned to Vel’Koz who just shook his head. “Well then, in the meantime, I suggest we practice a bit more often to get into the grove of things with 5 of us.”

 

           “Agreed. We’ll meet here tomorrow after school.” Jinx groaned, Lux just ignored it and continued. “Don’t groan, we need to practice, and even you have to admit that despite you being a good shot, you were still missing a lot more than you would like.” Janna, Poppy, Lulu, and Vel’Koz turned from Lux to Jinx and eventually Jinx nodded after what looked like she was in pain.

 

           “Uh…thinking is still hard. Fine. See you all tomorrow then.” Jinx grabbed her bag and headed out. Lux just shook her head and they all followed. As they left the library, Lux paused for a moment on the steps and looked up into the sky.

 

           “Well she wasn’t what we expected, but we finally have everyone. Now all we have to do is not kill each other and get along.” Lux just sighed as she continued under her breath. “Well one problem at a time I guess.” Running down the remaining steps, Lux caught up to the others and the four headed home. Jinx was already well out of sight, but it wouldn’t take long for her to catch on. Or at least Lux hopped it wouldn’t.

* * *

 

           To say that Malzahar was in a bad mood was a massive understatement. Kog’Maw was cowering as Malzahar was pacing around and around in a rage that the guardians were now complete and his objective hadn’t been accomplished.

 

           “May I be so bold to remind the Great Prophet that I did get a lot of energy from the last attack and with…” but Kog’Maw couldn’t speak anymore as Malzahar bound him with his mind for a few seconds before letting go.

 

           “No you may not! The guardians are now complete and because of that they are infinitely more powerful. You had to stop this from happening and now that you haven’t, we will all feel the results. The energy you collected will barely be enough for my plan! Now go, find more energy, find the tome, and do not return until you get both!” Kog’Maw sprinted out of the room as fast as he could.

 

           Malzahar stayed in the throne room fuming. He was behind, and now there was even a bigger issue. Without more energy, his plans would be derailed. “If you can’t trust someone to get it done right, then do it yourself.” Malzahar floated out of the room and his power arced as he did so.

 

           “This will not end well.” Cho’Gath said as he watched Malzahar floated away. The previous times Malzahar had taken command of something, it hadn’t ended well and he hoped that he could talk Malzahar down before he cost them more. They could not afford any mistakes right now.


	29. Turning the Page

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a full team at last, the Guardians are at their most powerful, or at least they should be. Jinx is certainly a welcome addition to the team, she is still very much out of control and needs to time to integrate into the team, if she ever will. Meanwhile Kog’Maw’s plans still continue as his agent presses further towards recovering Malzahar’s tome. Can the Guardians figure out Kog’Maw’s before it goes into effect, or will they be scrambling to respond?

           “Watch out!” Poppy yelled as Jinx again sent bullets flying over her head, aiming at the training dummies. Poppy was getting frustrated, and Jinx seemed at least apologetic.

 

           “Well did you want it to hit you?” Or not. Lux just shook her head at Jinx’s snap reply.

 

           “I knew where they all were, just focus on what you were told to focus on.” Poppy was clearly angry but seemed to be more focused on trying to synergize with Jinx, but that really wasn’t working too well. She was too independent for the time being and while Poppy and Lulu had managed to integrate after a few times, Jinx just wasn’t. And Lux was still debating with herself whether or not it was her fault. Maybe she shouldn’t expect the same from someone who had just a wildly different personality than the rest of them, but then maybe she should be a bit more forceful in trying to get Jinx to integrate.

 

           The team recovered enough and Lux just called off the rest of training for the day as it was clear that tensions were running high. “Ok I think that’s enough for today. Let’s head downstairs.” Poppy was still giving Jinx a glare, which Jinx just seemed to ignore, or she didn’t care. They all powered down and Lux was the last to leave the room as she sighed before heading downstairs.

 

           With three new additions, the room felt full for the first time. Dorcha, Solas, Zephyr, Pix, Shiro, and Kuro were enjoying themselves on the counter while Lulu was scribing away on the table. Jinx was leaning against the counter, while Poppy and Janna were pacing around but stopped when Lux entered. Lux took a deep breath before she began.

 

           “Ok I think we can all agree that was less than successful.” Lux looked between Poppy and Jinx in particular, the former seemed annoyed, the latter, not caring. “So here’s the bottom line, we need to work together and the only way that is getting done is if we learn to trust each other. Something that isn’t easy sure but we are all here for the same reasons.” Lux stumbled over the s in reasons when she realized that even she had multiple reasons for being here. “So we need to learn to work together, despite all our individual ideas and thoughts. Sometimes it is harder than we expect but if we don’t learn to work together, then we will fall one by one, and where we all be then?”

 

           Lux let the last sentence hang and looked around. Janna nodded as she looked between Lux and Lulu. Poppy was still looking at Jinx, but her expressions softened a bit. Lulu had even stopped drawing and smiled when Lux looked her way. Jinx had her head down, but gave a small nod nonetheless. Lux took that as a sign of encouragement. “Now everyone go home and we will take tomorrow off as we just need a day away from each other.”

 

           Lux watched everyone go. Janna left first after letting Zephyr jump up onto her shoulder, giving Lux a smile as she headed out. Lulu wasn’t too far behind as she packed up her supplies and left her drawing on the table. “I’m not sure what it means, but I have a feeling you should look at it.” Lux nodded as Lulu headed out, Pix not far behind. Jinx grabbed her bag, Shiro, and Kuro and while she didn’t look at Lux, her attitude of being a bit reckless seemed to be on hold, at least for now.

 

           Lux turned to Poppy as Jinx closed the door and it was clear that she wasn’t leaving until she spoke to Lux. “She’s reckless and you know it.”

 

           “I know, but we don’t have a lot of choices right now. We don’t know how to transfer the powers from one person to another, unless you found out how.” Lux sat down at the table and Poppy sat across from her.

 

           “My point is that we need to keep an eye on her. She’s got ulterior motives and maybe it goes so far as to see this as a fun activity, but I still doubt her full commitment. Until I see something, I’m going to keep that attitude.” Poppy finished, grabbed her bag, and headed out. Lux just put her head onto the table as she heard the door close. Dorcha and Solas hopped over from the counter and after much struggling, managed to get Lux to pick her head up.

 

           “It takes time and you know that. Maybe a bit longer this time, but there is still something that is bothering me about Jinx.” Lux looked at Dorcha, and just shook her head.

 

           “Yeah, I don’t think we know the full story. There’s something about her life, or lack of what we know about it. I don’t want to go digging, but we need to know. I guess it will have to be one of those things that there won’t be much we can do about it unless we need to. Everyone has a right to their secrets, for better or worse. Still though, there is something she isn’t telling us.” Lux just looked between Dorcha and Solas and they both shrugged. “Come on, let’s go home.”

 

           Lux grabbed her bag, allowed the two to jump up into it, and headed out the door. During the walk home, Lux couldn’t help but turn things over in her head and she realized that she wasn’t as distrustful of Janna, Poppy, or Lulu, probably because they showed commitment. Lux just turned everything over and before she knew it, she was at her own front door.

 

           Entering, Lux made her way past her parents and headed up to her room, where she just decided to work on the homework she had been neglecting for a while now. Working until dinner, Lux finally came down and largely ignored the dinner conversation, which focused on Garen’s upcoming games and how he was still trying to get someone for the upcoming dance. Lux managed a little smile at that knowing he was still tripping over himself to get Janna, who politely refused every advance.

 

           Lux volunteered to clean up to give herself more time alone to think and while it worked, her thoughts instead of being on homework, kept diverting to her other life. She kept thinking about Kog’Maw and what he was going to do next, but she knew that dwelling on it wouldn’t help unless they could do something about it. And for new, there was nothing they could do until they knew what he was targeting. They all knew, well hopefully, that it was something connected to Malzahar but what it was. They still had his robes and his book, and given the fact there was little to no information on them, it was likely that he was going after whichever was easiest to get to. The other problem was they had no idea which that was.

 

           As she finished the dishes, Lux headed up to her room and tried to play games, but found herself working on her homework after a while, needing something to focus her energy on. Lux was so into her work that she failed to notice Zephyr had been on her bed for about 20 minutes. Lux turned to see the cat and she jumped a bit.

 

           “Sorry I didn’t want to interrupt, but Janna asked me to keep an eye on Jinx, and well she’s definitely one to do random things. She likes to just blow stuff up in her yard, but she fawns over Shiro and Kuro. Clearly she has at least one soft spot.” Zephyr stood up and stretched while Lux leaned back in her chair and was clearly deep in thought.

 

           “Well just as long as she can fight, and stay focused during it, maybe we can start to chip away at that. Jinx clearly has some issues and is probably borderline psycho, but still she seems stable enough for us to continue working. I just hope she can come through when we need too. The last fight was an anomaly in that we were all over the place, next time, we probably won’t be that lucky. Of course it would be nice to know when and where out next fight would take place.” Lux turned to Zephyr with a bit of a look, before turning to Dorcha and Solas. They all just kind of shrugged.

 

           “We’re working on it.” Dorcha said in that voice of “please don’t be angry at us”. Lux just sat back as a response, and turned back to her homework but now found that now she couldn’t focus on that. Groaning, she just pushed her chair back and looked out the window. The full moon caught her eye and she just looked up.

 

           “What are you planning?”

* * *

 

           Malzahar was indeed looking up at Runeterra as well but was more frustrated that his robes and tome couldn’t be located, let alone get a hint about their location. Kog’Maw was running around doing nothing, or at least that is what it appeared to Malzahar. In fact, Kog’Maw was trying to locate Malzahar’s tome but it wasn’t going well. Because of the destructive nature of the Void Wars, magical tomes were controlled and shielded to prevent exactly what Kog’Maw was trying to do.

 

           Irinis wasn’t have much luck on the planet as trying to get access to one of the archives was not only dangerous, but could end up going nowhere as she would be exposed in seconds. Even then, it might even be in an archive, it could be out in the general world. Irinis was under enormous pressure and even with Kog’Maw helping as best he could, it wasn’t enough. They weren’t moving fast enough for Malzahar, and sooner it would act, but they needed to act before he did.

 

           Kog’Maw looked for Irinis at their meeting place and eventually found her. “Report.”

 

           “I haven’t had much more luck, but I have eliminated a few places. It’s a good news, bad news situation. I can’t get access to these archives, so I’m going to go back to the source. Malzahar’s old guild and see if I can find what happened to the tome. There is no way I can get in and out of there undetected.” Irinis finished and held her breath.

 

           “Then it must be done.” Kog’Maw opened a portal and disappeared through it. Irinis breathed a sigh of relief and made plans to accomplish her objective the next day. It wouldn’t be pretty or easy, but she had to do it. The only things standing in her way, were 70 extremely powerful summoners of all ages, and they wouldn’t take kindly to her presence.

* * *

 

           The following morning saw the team waking up to a day where anything can, and probably would happen. Too many times Kog’Maw has acted at random and today was no reason to expect anything less. They all went to school where Janna was still keeping a careful eye on Jinx, and hoped that whatever happened would happen later. Unfortunately, as lunch came around, and Jinx joined them for the first time, they all felt the cold rush down their spines. Jinx looked a bit confused as there was no way to transform without exposing themselves. However, she just followed the rest of the team as they sprinted for their favorite grove of trees. Already the alarms sounded.

 

           As they reached the grove, Lux turned to the rest of them. “Ready?” They all nodded.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” They all transformed and they sprinted off towards the source of the cold. When they go there, not even Jinx could come up with a joke. They all knew what it was, and that was bad. Kog’Maw, or someone was attacking one of the Mage Towers, and this one in particular was the one where Malzahar was trained. Not waiting for orders, Jinx rushed towards the door, while the rest of the team followed behind, knowing that in this case, she was probably right. Deal with the problem fast.

 

           As they burst through the door, one of the summoners was there to greet them. “Upstairs. She’s barricaded herself in the records room. We have no idea what she’s looking for. We’ve managed to keep her away from the most dangerous things, but who knows.”

 

           Jinx and Poppy tore off up the stairs, followed closely behind by Lulu and Janna. Lux however stayed in the lobby.

 

           “Is there anything left here related to Malzahar?” Lux turned to the senior summoner. He paused and started to think before his face just washed with terror.

 

           “Oh no. Yes there is. The records room contains information about the various summoners who trained here and what happened to them. Whiel she will be pressed to remove the spells around them, the records contain what happened to Malzahar’s items after the void corrupted him. Or at least as much as we could track down. We need to hurry.”

 

           Lux didn’t need to be told as she sprinted off up the stairs. The records room was on the 5th floor and when Lux finally got up there, Jinx and Poppy were looking at the door. Not only was it thick, it was enchanted. Poppy just turned to Lux as she rounded the corner to the room and shrugged. While it was clear Jinx was trying to figure out how to blow a hole in the wall, even she looked a bit defeated.

 

           “Is there another way in?” Lux asked one of the summoners who was outside.

 

           “No. The room was designed that way. She can’t get out of there through a void portal. We’ve seen to that. However, the issue isn’t magic, it’s just weight. She’s piled a lot of things against the door and we don’t feel like blasting our way in.” Jinx looked a bit put out by that, but still looked for a more explosive solution.

* * *

 

           Inside the records room, Irinis was furious. Not only was the room fortified, but the records themselves were sealed with magic. She knew that eventually the summoners or the Guardians were going to get in. That barricade she built wouldn’t last long, but she also couldn’t get the box open without help and time. Knowing she wouldn’t leave the building with it, she had to find a way to get it open.

 

           Just when she was considering her options, a loud crash at the door caught her attention. “Apparently brute force was the only option they looked at. No matter.” Irinis readied herself for a fight.

* * *

 

           “Again!” Poppy yelled and they swung the large stone pillar against the door. Everyone but Lux and Jinx was on the pillar. Poppy was in the front, underneath it, Lulu was using her magic to help make it a bit lighter, while Janna used hers to give it an extra push before it hit the door. The summoners had quickly got a rig up to hold a battering ram. Sometimes brute force, and the simplest solution was the best option.

 

           They swung the hammer again and they heard a cracking from the other side. “It sounds like the furniture is cracking. One more time.” They swung again, but it still didn’t move.

 

           “One more time!” Poppy yelled and she threw all of her weight against it, and the door finally cracked open. Poppy grabbed her hammer from her back, but was almost hit right in the face by what looked like large blots. Janna quickly shielded Poppy as she ran into the room, followed closely by Jinx. Janna followed them in while Lux and Lulu stayed outside in case whoever was in there ran.

 

           “Come and get me guardians.” Irinis spat as Jinx missed with her Zap and Poppy missed a swing. Janna managed to get Zephyr to latch on, but that was only temporary. Irinis managed to avoid further attacks and get out of the room only to get hit with Lulu’s glitterlance and Lux’s singularity. Lux also tired throwing a binding, but that missed and Irinis started running for the stairs. The team took off after her while the summoners began to search the room for what she took.

 

           Irinis managed to get to the second floor before she got caught by a summoner and that bought enough time for the Guardians to catch up. Lux and Janna slowed her down, while Jinx peppered the area with bullets, hitting Irinis more than once. Grimacing at the pain, Irinis threw more ink behind her which got Poppy stuck as she tried to pull herself free. Lux threw another binding but missed. Jinx however, landed her Zap which bought enough time for the team to catch back up to her in the atrium.

 

           Now there was a real problem. Irinis was caught between 6 very powerful summoners at the door, and the guardians behind her. 11 v 1 was not good odds. She looked for a solution but quickly realized there wasn’t one without them all believing she surrendered.

 

           “Ok now just give up. You are outnumbered, surrounded, and you have zero hope of getting out of here.” Lux moved forward as she spoke and her voice echoed the confidence she was feeling internally. However, she also knew to expect something unexpected. Knowing she had only one shot, Irinis just kneeled on the ground, put the box she had next to her, and put her hands over her head. Lux motioned for Poppy and Janna to move in, but they had barely taken a step when the front doors flew open, sending the summoners scrambling for cover.

 

           Kog’Maw burst through the doors and started opening up on the guardians. Lux threw a barrier around Lulu and Jinx, while Janna shielded Poppy and jumped backwards, only to be shielded by Lulu. Jinx didn’t waste time peppering Kog’Maw and trying to keep him off balance. Irinis on the other hand, grabbed the box and jumped for the door only to get Zephyr clamping on again. Cursing the what she assumed was an air elemental, she fell before she reached the threshold. Kog’Maw tried to help, only to get a face full from Jinx. Irinis tires again to flee, only to have Lulu transfigure her.

 

           Kog’Maw, seeing this, unleashes everything he has and it causes Lux to throw a barrier over the whole team. Irinis finally manages to get the box and they sprint out the door. Jinx, sped up by Lulu tries to pursue but they are through a portal before Jinx can do anything. As Jinx reenters the tower, Lux looks at her and Jinx just shakes her head. Lux nods in reply. Jinx stays near the door with Shiro transformed in case they come back while Janna and Lulu see to the summoners who were injured. After what seems like ages, the head summoner comes into the atrium. Lux stands to meet him.

 

           “Well we managed to figure out what they took and it is a good news, bad news situation.” Lux’s face betrayed her ‘can I have one day without that situation please’ feeling. “What they got away with is both a good and a bad thing. They were clearly here to get something about Malzahar, but what they got away with won’t help them as much as they think. After Malzahar was corrupted, we hid away as many objects as we could. One of the most powerful, his tome, was locked away in a vault in the nearby mountains. The vault is sealed, so it offers some protection. They didn’t get that information.” Lux smiled as that seemed like a good bit of information.

 

           “Now for the bad news. They got away with Malzahar’s record. It contains everything we knew about him and what happened after he was corrupted. While it doesn’t contain specifics, it does contain enough information that he could piece it together and find the objects he’s looking for.”

 

           “Well we do know what he’s looking for two remaining objects, his tome and his robes.” Janna said as she hovered over. Lux nodded.

 

           “We just had no idea where to find them, but we can understand why you were keeping it a secret.” Lux kept her voice neutral, while bashing her head into a wall in her mind because why didn’t they think to come here a few weeks ago.

 

           “Malzahar’s robes however are the one thing we can’t help you with.” Lux and Janna’s faces soured at that. “We have no idea what happened to them. We can however search for them. If we do manage to find them, where can we forward the information to?” Lux now had to think but before she could even get started a voice interrupted her.

 

           “You can forward that information to me. I’ve been trying to locate the “great prophet’s” artifacts for a while now and when I felt the attack here, I figured I would come down.” Vel’Koz floated around the corner and past Jinx, who let the “we don’t know or work with each other” slip for a few seconds. It seemed to go unnoticed. Lux kept up her part and adopted a curious look.

 

           “Why you?” Lux asked, her voice a bit harsher than she wanted it to be.

 

           “Because as I have said, I don’t care about that imposter anymore. The void is nothing but hunger, power, and those who try and capture it. I managed to throw those off, not easily mind you, but I did. Now I want to help as best I can.” Vel’Koz kept his voice nervous for effect, but privately.

 

           ‘Nice tone by the way. Very authoritative’ he shot at Lux, who barely managed to keep up her end of the charade. Lux carefully “thought” for a few moments, then nodded.

 

           “That is acceptable. I should go back with you then to set up some way of contacting us.” Vel’Koz just nodded while the summoners who were injured were now being tended to by the local healers. Lux turned to the rest of the team. “Head back and I’ll join you when I can.” Janna nodded and the rest of the team followed her, Jinx abet after a push. Lux rode back to the museum with Vel’Koz and Nasus, all of them were careful to keep up the charade until they were behind the doors of the museum and back into the tower where the rest of the team was waiting.

 

           “Ok then, at least there will be something out of this. I already received information about this vault they were talking about.” Vel’Koz pulled up the hologram of the city and moved it to the mountains. “It is isolated and while it isn’t completely impervious, it is heavily protected. Malzahar will need a lot of firepower to get in there. It is heavily fortified with summoner magics. Malzahar knew about the fault before he was corrupted but didn’t care. This vault holds a lot of tomes, information, and other things that are dangerous.”

 

           “So basically getting in there is bad for us?” Jinx asked, with a rather sarcastic tone. Lux was about to throw her a look, but sometimes the obvious needed to be asked or said, and she just shook her head.

 

           “Yes. Very bad. Malzahar will have to burn a lot of energy to get in there so there is a comforting thought.” The team breathed a sigh of relief as they knew the void was still low on energy and they needed to get more of it. So either another energy attack first or a direct attack on the vault.

 

           “So then be prepared for anything at any time. Hopefully we can get away if something should happen, but who knows. Just be ready.” Lux said as she turned to the team, who all nodded. Well Jinx nodded as she yawned a bit. They all agreed to head out for the day. By now, their parents were used to the “I just ran” excuse when they got home, even Jinx got a message from her parents about it.

 

           The evening passed with more reports about the attack earlier in the day, but nothing else major happened. As Lux settled down for bed she looked up at the moon again, this time with a bit of apprehension.

* * *

 

           On the moon, Malzahar had indeed put the pieces together about where his tome was, and he wasn’t happy. After sending Kog’Maw to recon the site, he was even less happy.

 

           “As you can see Great Prophet, the entrance and all sides are heavily fortified with summoner magic. They clearly don’t want anyone getting in there. It would require a great deal of energy to breach these defenses.” Kog’Maw let his voice trail off as he looked at Malzahar who was visually angry. Irinis was also apprehensive because they couldn’t do much at this point. Kha’Zix, Rek’Sai, and Cho’Gath were also analyzing the situation and it wasn’t until Cho’Gath spoke up that they all noticed it.

 

           “You said this was fortified against magic attacks right?” Cho’Gath turned to Kog’Maw, who just nodded as he swallowed another snack.

 

           “What about physical attacks? I mean that door can’t be that strong.” They all looked at the door and Malzahar shook his head and laughed.

 

           “Of course it isn’t. They wouldn’t expect that. However, that leaves us with another problem. How to get into it?” Malzahar walked around as the plan came together. They could all wail away at it, but that would take too much time. They all just thought until Kog’Maw ate another snack, then paused. Everyone turned to look.

 

           “What about just blowing it open?” Malzahar, well everyone really, just looked between Kog’Maw and the vault door. Then Malzahar floated over to the nearest wall, and slammed his head into it.

 

           “Of course. The answer is so simple. Quickly find a place with plenty of explosives. But um…anyone know how to use them?” He added as an afterthought. No one did anything, but then they all reasoned it couldn’t be that hard. Cho’Gath quickly identified a construction site with an ample amount of explosives. Irinis and Kog’Maw were quickly sent to gather as much as they could. Their presence would be known to the guardians, but Malzahar reasoned they have to sleep at some point.

* * *

 

           Lux woke up in a cold sweat as she felt the shiver run down her spine. “Seriously, it is 2 in the morning.” She whispered as she reached for her locket. Dorcha and Solas quickly woke up as well and grabbed Lux’s phone. No one had responded, but Lux still peaked out her door to ensure everyone was asleep.

 

           “Looks like I’m going solo on this one.” Lux held the locket up. “Star Guardian Power Up!”

 

           Lux jumped out her windows, quickly followed by Dorcha and Solas, who were going to try and get the rest of the team up. Lux quickly followed her senses and it lead her to a construction site at the edge of the city. She crouched as she got close, only to find Kog’Maw and Irinis trying to unlock a container. Lux didn’t know what was in it, but whatever it was, it probably wasn’t good.

 

           “You know, girls still need their beautry sleep, but I guess I’ll just have to teach you the hard way.” Lux threw a binding that caught both of the void creatures off guard, and while they both responded quickly, Lux had already jumped down from where she was as acid and something else exploded there. Lux threw a singularity and it exploded in their faces. Taking a quick look around, Lux realized she was on her own.

 

           “Deal with that, I’ll take her.” Kog’Maw yelled and opened up. Lux managed to either dodge or shield everything he threw at her. Throwing another binding, she missed, but the singularity did hit its mark. Lux was careful to hold onto her spark since she didn’t know what they were doing, and what they were dealing with. Lux dodged out of more acid from Kog’Maw but knew she couldn’t keep this up much longer, at least not without help, and judging by what she felt, it wasn’t good.

 

           As Lux focused on the fight, she finally slipped up by tripping on a rock and losing her balance. Kog’Maw managed to get a few shots in but Lux shielded the damage. However, it wouldn’t last much longer as Kog’Maw closed in for some real damage. Just when he got close however, something exploded in his face. Lux turned to see Jinx tearing down the hill firing Kuro. Lux rolled to the side and got back on her feet. As she did so, something blue rushed past her, and Poppy swung her hammer right into Kog’Maw’s face.

 

           Now outnumbered, Kog’Maw looked behind him and saw Irinis waving towards a portal. Kog’Maw quickly sped towards it.

 

           “Stop him!” Lux yelled and Jinx fired her Zap, but missed. Poppy also tried a tackle, but ended up hitting the side of a shipping crate. Kog’Maw managed to slip through. Both Lux and Poppy were angry but Jinx was carefully looking over the container they had opened. Poppy moved to keep watch while Lux joined Jinx, who was carefully examining container.

 

           “So what did they keep in here.” Lux asked, only to have Jinx ignore her. Sighing, Lux headed back out as to not crowd her. She still had Shiro transformed as Kuro hopped about some of the things in the container. Lux knew Jinx was a bit off, but still, if she was focused on something, it wasn’t good.

 

           Finally, Jinx came out and she looked both happy and apprehensive. “Well this won’t be good.” Poppy muttered. Jinx just stuck her tongue out.

 

           “Correct. But not in a good way. Come to my place tomorrow and I’ll show you why.” Jinx hurried off as Lux and Poppy got a look in the container. The word “explosives” was written all around and they both didn’t like that.

 

           “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Poppy asked, turning to Lux.

 

           “Because even Jinx does. As much as a nut she is, when she’s worried, it is a good reason to worry. But for now, let’s get home.” Lux and Poppy headed away from the site just as the police were rolling up. Lux was sure to get Caitlyn get a passing view of her before leaving for home.

 

           Dorcha and Solas were there to greet her. “So what about Janna and Lulu?” Lux whispered as she powered down.

 

           “Well Lulu was just out cold, and Janna refused to wake up. Even after Zephyr walked all over her. He said that usually gets her up.” Dorcha said as she and Lux turned to Solas.

 

           “Zephyr even hissed and that still didn’t do it. Did wake up her father though, who thought he wanted to go out. That was embarrassing to watch.” Solas was suppressing laughter but Lux was too tired now to do anything.

 

           “Just ensure I don’t miss school please.” Lux said as she laid down, and was out in a few seconds.

* * *

 

           On the moon, Malzahar was pleased. “Think it will be enough?” He asked as Irinis carefully organized the explosives.

 

           “Should be. I took enough to blast a sizeable hole in the ground. Along with the things we need to detonate them. I’m a quick study.” She added after Malzahar looked at her curiously. “Also here’s the manual.” Irinis threw a book, but immediately regretted it. Malzahar however just caught it and after reading a few pages, just threw it back.

 

           “I’ll take your word for it. Just don’t mess it up. We will get one shot.” He floated out and Irinis breathed again. She had just resigned herself to being fed to the Baron, but it was a relief.

 

 

           While everyone else, slept, Jinx was busy. Working some equations on a white board, occasionally being corrected by Kuro. When she finished, her face went sour. “Well that’s not good. Still what do they plan to do with it.” Shiro chirped and Jinx had a pained expression on her face.

 

           “Uh…how do people do this.”

* * *

 

           The following morning saw Lux and Poppy wake a bit slower than usual, Lulu sending 10 “Sorry” texts, and Janna waking to a very angry Zephyr. As the four walked to school, Lux turned to Janna.

 

           “Just keep an eye on her and if she passes along anything, then we need to hear about it quickly.” No sooner had Lux finished talking, then did her phone buzz. Jinx had already texted.

 

           ‘meet at lunch not good’ Lux just sighed and knew that nothing good ever came out of a construction site robbery.

 

           “At least they didn’t take some of the heavy equipment.”

 

           The morning dragged on as everyone tried to get through it. Lux kept checking her watch between taking notes. Lulu was off in her own world, but even she seemed nervous. Poppy was her usual self, almost stoic in her appearance, but Lux knew she was worried too. Janna passed Jinx a few times, but they had no time to talk. On their second passing, Jinx passed Janna a note, which once Janna managed to translate her handwriting, she was puzzled.

 

           When lunch finally arrived, everyone met up at the park between the two schools. Jinx was the last to arrive, with a small notebook. “Wow she can write?” Poppy said, and again Jinx just stuck her tongue out.

 

           “Laugh now but you have no idea what they took do you?” Jinx used her brief superiority of knowledge to its fullest as Poppy sucked with her own tongue out. Jinx put the notebook down as Shiro and Kuro joined Dorcha, Solas, Zephyr, and Pix.

 

           Jinx cleared her throat. “They got away with a lot of explosives last night. What is worrying is they got away with a manual and some blasting caps.” Everyone just looked like she was speaking in tongues. Jinx sighed. “Is this what it’s like to think all the time?” Lux just nodded. Jinx groaned.

 

           “What that means is they got away with the tools to create a large explosion, and one that can do a lot of damage. I did some math” Jinx shot a look at Poppy who was just flabbergasted at this point, “and they could bring down a building with this. Or create a very large hole. I have no idea what they would be doing with it, but there you have it. I’m sure the cops have already figured it out.” Jinx sat down finally and took a huge bite of her lunch.

 

           Janna grabbed the notebook and after reading it, passed it to Lux. While she didn’t fully understand, Lux knew that it was bad news. “Why would they need so much?” Janna asked as she turned to Jinx. Jinx just shrugged as her mouth was full from shoveling her lunch.

 

           “We’ll talk with Vel’Koz later today and see if we can get an answer. Clearly they are going for something, but what?” Lux said as she put her head down and looked at her lunch, suddenly not so hungry. Lulu, seeing this, pushed Lux’s lunch a bit closer, and Lux chucked a bit, nodding. Lulu gave a quick hug before returning to her own lunch.

 

           The afternoon dragged almost like the morning had. There were a number of things that just made it worse as Lux, Janna, and Poppy kept turning over ideas in their heads and they kept coming around to new ideas and solutions to those ideas but until Kog’Maw actually did something, they were powerless to act without exposing themselves. Janna kept an eye on Jinx throughout the day, and she seemed to be annoyed and Janna couldn’t figure out why. Texting Lux for answers, the answer made her eyes roll.

 

           ‘she likes action remember that’

 

           The school day ended without much activity and Lux ordered everyone to the tower to wait out Kog’Maw. Lux, Janna, and Lulu waited in the bottom level of the tower, while Poppy and Jinx were on the second floor hitting things and shooting things. After about 40 minutes, Poppy came down a bit annoyed. Lux turned to her.

 

           “Jinx is going crazy up there. I mean I know it won’t break, but I think she’s letting off more than pent up steam.” Poppy powered down, pulled up her homework, and started working. About 30 minutes after that, Jinx came down and she seemed relieved. “Work out whatever you were.” Jinx just stuck her tongue in response and powered down.

 

           “I’m not good at sitting around waiting.” Jinx said, sounding almost apologetic, but she didn’t look it. Lux took it as almost explaining rather than apologizing, but she was at least trying to communicate and work together. It was at least a positive sign. It still wasn’t enough for Lux to be complete satisfied. Jinx sat down, pulled a tablet out of her backpack, and just started watching movies.

 

           Vel’Koz even floated in as the team started to get restless. Even Lulu was getting restless since she had finished whatever she was working on and was looking around, eventually joining Jinx watching moves. Lux noticed that Jinx made room for Lulu to come over. ‘Well I guess the odd ones always find each other.’

 

           Lux was just looking at menus as to what to order for dinner, when they all felt it. Lux quickly jumped to her feet, Janna put down her book, Poppy jumped up as well, while Lulu and Jinx looked up. Lux looked at the city map, and saw they were outside the city, right at the vault.

 

           “Well it seems like the waiting is over. Let’s go.” Lux looked around to everyone and they pulled their pendants.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Once they were all ready, they sprinted out of one of the secluded entrances and headed towards the outskirts of the city. Once they arrived, it was clear that they were going to have issues. Kog’Maw did have a few Zzs, but not nearly as much as previous fights. He also had Irinis going straight for the vault door.

 

           Lux turned to Jinx and Janna. “You two deal with the Zzs.” Jinx looked a bit put out. “Remember you can shoot more things this way.” Jinx immediately perked up and tore off towards the small horde, which seemed to be doing little more than keeping people occupied. Jinx immediately started opening fire, even though she was still at range. Janna just shook her head but followed.

 

           “I need you two to keep that minion busy and keep her away from that door.” Poppy and Lulu nodded and headed off to keep Irinis busy. Lux looked towards the summoners and identified by the robes who was in charge, or at least high enough to know what was going on. Lux saw a small horde of Zzs going after them, and quickly vaporized them. Heading into the building, Lux quickly turned to the summoner.

 

           “Ok what is going on here?” Lux’s voice betrayed her fear of lack of knowledge, however it seems that the summoner was also confused.

 

           “I’m not sure. We know Malzahar’s tome is in the vault, but they have little way of getting into it. Even if Malzahar was here himself, it would take hours to penetrate the magical defenses. We aren’t sure what their objective is, but they are focused on keeping us away from the door.” Lux looked puzzled, but shook her head.

 

           “Then we need to get to that door and stop them from doing whatever they are doing. Just out of curiosity, can they create a magic drill?” Lux turned with a curious expression.

 

           “Possibly, but it would still take hours.” Lux just shook her head and took off towards Janna and Jinx, who had now Zzs and Kog’Maw to deal with. Looking around, another small horde was keeping Poppy and Lulu from getting to Irinis. Lux knew that Kog’Maw was the greater threat, and the horde in front of Janna and Jinx. Lux threw a singularity to announce her arrival and Jinx turned for the briefest second to acknowledge her. Lux kept focused on the horde, as Kog’Maw kept the horde between them and him. Given the fact he usually charged in, this was odd.

 

           “Can you get to the door?” Janna yelled over the commotion, and Jinx firing away.

 

           “No but the summoners are just as clueless as we are. They have no idea why Kog’Maw is attacking as it would take them hours to penetrate the door.” Lux yelled back as she threw a barrier to shield Jinx from another Zz charge. Lux kept up the fire with Jinx, but she knew she was missing something. There was just something that she wasn’t getting, and given Kog’Maw’s extremely unusual behavior, and the fact Poppy and Lulu were still struggling to get through the small horde, which Kog’Maw was resupplying from his.

 

           Lux had just thrown a barrier, and wasn’t ready throw another when a small horde came up on her right. It however, was quickly vaporized by an energy pulse. Lux turned to see Debonair running towards them, firing his staff the entire time. Lux moved back into a defensive and support role while still turning over what was going on in her head. Kog’Maw was still continuing to reinforce the horde between Poppy, Lulu, and Irinis.

 

           Jinx was continuing to fire, Debonair was continuing to fire, Janna was providing support, and still Kog’Maw was not attacking except when needed to keep the Guardians away from him. The horde however was thinning enough to where Lux could move to help Poppy and Lulu when suddenly she stopped dead. Moving forward, Lux grabbed Jinx, who was taking aback by the sudden movement, but the panic on Lux’s face caused Jinx to move behind Janna and Debonair.

 

           “You said earlier that the amount of explosives they took could leave a big hole? How big?” Lux at this point wasn’t able to keep control of her panic, and Jinx, who was about to crack a joke at the situation paused and thought, it almost looked painful to Lux.

 

           “It could blow a sizable hole in one of these hills. Why? Hey!” Jinx looked a bit panicked as Lux grabbed Jinx by the arm and ran off towards the summoner that she had talked to earlier. When they arrived, he looked just as confuse as Jinx did.

 

           “Ok what is going on?”

 

           “Ok I know that vault is defended against magic attacks, but what about explosives?” Jinx’s face went from confused, to thinking, to sharing Lux’s panic. The summoner’s face went through the exact same transition.

 

           “It isn’t. We never considered that, but then things like that are a more recent invention. We need to get to that door as it won’t hold against that.”

 

           “Ok but it’s still a think door how will it not hold up?” Jinx asked, and Lux turned to her with a bit of a look in her eye.

 

           “Because it is a wood door. It is better for enchanting than anything else. Including stone, but we might look at that differently if we all survive this.” Jinx didn’t need Lux to tell her what to do next. Jinx sprinted out and began helping Poppy and Lulu, with Lux not far behind her. Debonair and Janna saw what was happening, and after Janna threw a powerful twister, and Debonair sent a large number of accelerated energy pulses, they moved to join them. Kog’Maw clearly knowing that his plan had been revealed, targeted the Guardians directly, only to have Lux and Jinx fire everything right into his face, and Kog’Maw had to pull pack.

 

           The team started making quick work of the horde, and Kog’Maw went back to Irinis. “We can’t keep this up much longer, the guardians are on to us.”

 

           “We will have to hope that we can blow a hole with what we’ve got. I think I have this right, but I can’t be certain. We will have to hope. We will need reinforcements while we search for the tome because I doubt it will be obvious. Move back.”

 

           Irinis and Kog’Maw came around the corner from the door and Lux saw what was happening. “GET DOWN!” She yelled and the entire team took cover. Irinis saw that they weren’t going to catch the guardians, but they had no choice and detonated the explosives. The explosion was devastating, but it did accomplish his objective and the door was blown open. Irinis and Kog’Maw ran into the vault, while throwing the rest of the Zzs charged the guardians.

 

           “We need to get into that vault. Everyone ready up!” Lux was the first back on her feet, and that was enough to get everyone else up. Lux jumped into the air and opened up. “Final Spark!” Lux carefully aligned her spark and wiped out a huge chunk of the line. Debonair, Lulu, and Jinx opened fire quickly afterward, while Janna threw a huge numbers of twisters, and Poppy charged right into the horde, swinging at everything in her sight.

 

           After what seemed like a long time, they destroyed the entire line and charged right into the vault.

* * *

 

           Kog’Maw and Irinis were shocked at the amount of tomes in the vault, but several were singled out. Looking at what they took from the summoner tower earlier, they navigated through the vault and sooner than expected, they found Malzahar’s tome, but getting out wasn’t going to be easy. They couldn’t open a portal in the vault because while the door was destroyed, the enchantments were still intact.

 

           The entire level of the vault where they were was filled with magic that had been forbidden, and given Malzahar’s tome and what it contained, it was sealed by summoner magic. “Well this could be an issue.” Irinis said while Kog’Maw kept an eye on the door. The enchantments were strong, but they weren’t as strong as the ones around them. Kog’Maw could hear gunfire and everything else from outside and knew the guardians were still being occupied by the Zzs, but not for long.

 

           Irinis looked carefully over the pedestal, and realized something. “Um how about we just do this.” Kog’Maw looked around to see Irinis transforming her arm, and swinging into the pedestal. A few minutes later, Irinis managed to free the upper part of the pedestal, with the book, and she and Kog’Maw threw open the door only to encounter the guardians.

* * *

 

           Lux and the rest of the team charged through the vault looking for where Irinis and Kog’Maw were. “So what exactly are we looking for?” Poppy asked as they looked around.

 

           “Probably that.” Jinx said, pointing to a closed door. No sooner had they spotted the door, did it fly open and Irinis and Kog’Maw ran out of it. Irinis had in her hands a tome in a sealed case.

 

           “Ok you two, this is far enough. You two have caused enough damage today. We are the Star Guardians. Sworn to defend the universe against all those that would throw it into chaos. And that means you.” Kog’Maw and Irinis laughed, but Jinx and Poppy didn’t wait for them to regain their senses before they opened fire and charged respectively. Irinis used the case to absorb the damage from Jinx, while Kog’Maw dodged around Poppy and the entire situation fell into chaos. The enchantments along the bookshelves absorbed the rampant spells and everything else, but the battle quickly became Kog’Maw and Irinis running towards the door while the Guardians tried to catch them.

 

           Janna threw a twister but missed. Poppy charged, and also missed. Lux fired a binding and singularity, but both missed. Jinx fired her Zap, but that missed as well. Lulu couldn’t even get close to use anything in her arsenal, and focused on trying to speed someone else up, but it wasn’t enough. Irinis and Kog’Maw got out of the vault, and quickly jumped through a portal before the Guardians could even get a shot off.

 

           The team was clearly defeated, just sat down against the sides vault and on the ground. Debonair, instead of usually vanishing, stayed as even he seemed to sense that the team was just defeated. Even Jinx was holding back on the sarcastic comments as she sat on the ground next to Poppy. Lux looked at the team and they were all clearly defeated. The summoner in charge, or at least the one Lux talked to looked defeated as well.

 

           “You mustn’t blame yourselves for this for this is our mistake. We did not update our defenses and you did everything you could to try and stop this from happening. It will take them a while to penetrate the defenses on the tome, but they will get into it eventually. Now please, take your leave, and we will clean up our own mess. Do you need assistance to get where you are going?” Lux just looked up and after standing up, shook her head at the summoner.

 

           “No, but as much as this is your failure, it is ours as well.” Lux looked between her team and no one, not even Jinx, offered any resistance to her words. “We didn’t put the clues together fast enough and we failed to respond quickly.” Lux was fighting back tears at this point. “We should have…”

 

           “Enough please. From what I understand from reading up on Star Guardians, you cannot sense anything, or do anything until they attack. You did all you could, and you all did your best. Do not blame yourselves because we all make mistakes.”  
  
           “Except these mistakes are big. Malzahar will use the tome at some point against us.” Lux managed to shake the tears from her eyes.

 

           “While yes it is true that the tome will make Malzahar more powerful, there is a price he will pay. Malzahar was a powerful summoner, but the tome will require him to use a lot of energy to penetrate the defenses around it. Maybe those plans will be delayed.” Lux turned to the summoner as he finished and started walking away and smiled, and so did the rest of the team. They all knew that Malzahar was low on energy so they hoped that the summoner was right.

 

           “Come on, let’s get going.” Lux looked at the team and they all nodded. Debonair nodded and headed off his own way. Once they all got back to the tower, Vel’Koz just looked at their faces and knew they had already going through a lot of things.

 

           “I hope that you all know that even with the energy Malzahar got away with, he will have to expend a lot to get past those defenses. Hopefully that will prevent him from getting access to it. The summoners have promised to send over a copy of what is in it, when the manage to find it. Their records room is still a mess. You all did everything you could. Don’t doubt yourselves and what you did.”

 

           “Yeah but we didn’t…I didn’t put the clues together fast enough.” Lux was now fully in tears with her head on the table. “I cost us a lot.”

 

           Janna and Poppy went over to her, while Lulu and Jinx stayed back. Jinx was using everything she could to hold back a sarcastic comment. The last thing this needed was a bit of humor. Janna finally managed to get Lux to stop crying and pick her head up. Lux looked up at her team, and they all nodded, even Jinx.

 

           “Come on Lux, everyone has a brain fart now and then.” Jinx’s sarcastic humor broke the tension that was in the room. While no one laughed, everyone seemed a bit more at ease. Lux just rolled her eyes and shook her head at Jinx, who was struggling not to laugh. Lux nodded and stood up.

 

           “Live and learn right?” She looked around and the team was nodded. Jinx was still trying to hold back laughter but Lux still gave her a hug, which Jinx promptly tried to escape from. Much to the laughter of the everyone else in the room.

* * *

 

           On the moon, Malzahar was both happy, and furious. While Irinis and Kog’Maw had succeeded, the tome Malzahar had for years was now locked away beneath layers of summoner magic that would take a lot of energy to break though.

 

           “This sets us back, but nevertheless, you accomplished your objectives. Now go and find my old robes and then return. We can’t breach this now.” Malzahar turned to look out the window as Kog’Maw and Irinis looked puzzled, but left. Outside Cho’Gath was curious.

 

           “Surprised he didn’t start the process at least.” Kog’Maw said as Cho’Gath made his presence know, which wasn’t hard.

 

           “Not really. He’s planning something big. Very big. He’s kept me in the dark, but if I had to hazard a guess, the guardians won’t know what hit them. However, he will be using a lot of energy and it will put us in a dangerous situation. He has a plan for that too, which makes me even more nervous.”

 

           “Don’t be nervous Cho’Gath, for this time, I have been careful. Prepare for the return of Baron.” Cho’Gath couldn’t even hide his surprise, but laughed as Malzahar and Kog’Maw laughed. Malzahar knew his plan, even if it is partially successful, will drive the war back in their favor, which is what they needed.


	30. The Grand Entrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Malzahar successfully retrieving his tome, the Guardians took a hit in morale and while they recovered, it still left a mark. Unknown to the Guardians, Malzahar knows that he can’t penetrate the summoner defenses yet, he plans to open the war into a larger fight. Will the Guardians be able to respond to the threat, or will they be overwhelmed?

           As Malzahar paced around the palace, he was moving the final pieces to destroy the Guardians once and for all. The energy reserves were lower than he could like, but he had little choice. The guardians, despite their clear inexperience, were managing to stop him at every turn. They were still getting victories, but the last one must have done damage, so he hoped to pile a situation on top of them that might either destroy them, or force them further on the defensive.

 

           Cho’Gath was worried however as Malzahar’s plans so far had resulted in brief successes, but great expenses of energy. Still, even as Malzahar explained his plan in detail to his lieutenants, Cho’Gath was impressed because even if the expenditure of energy was badly used, the shock value and Kog’Maw going and getting energy would pay off.

 

           “Just getting Baron to the surface is an enormous undertaking but I know the undertaking will be worth it. We can hopefully at least force the guardians on the defensive. Kog’Maw, while Baron is distracting the guardians, you will pillage as much energy as you can to replenish our energy supplies. If we can’t defeat the guardians, then we can at least give them a lot of issues to deal with.” Malzahar finished his speech and looked around. While none of them would say anything bad, they really couldn’t say anything. Malzahar’s plan, for once, was well thought out, and actually stood a chance of succeeding.

 

           “The guardians won’t know what hit them Great Prophet.” Cho’Gath finally said.

* * *

 

           Lux was still having issues focusing. She had begun to overthink everything since the last battle and it was causing a lot more harm than it was solving. Still Lux was unsure what would happen when Kog’Maw attacked again. Both the summoners and Vel’Koz were searching for any trace of Malzahar’s robes, but so far no luck. According to Vel’Koz, this above anything else would increase his power the most.

 

           “Lux!” Ms. Teller’s voice cut through Lux’s thoughts like a battering ram.

 

           “What? Sorry.” Lux just blushed as she focused on the board. Everyone was looking at her, even Poppy and Lulu. Lux just looked at her desk and after a few seconds, Amy sent her a text.

 

           ‘she called u 5 times something wrong?’

 

           ‘just thinking about things’ Lux tried to focus on class, but she just couldn’t. There was too much running through her mind. The final bell was a blessing and Lux tried to make her way out quickly but it wasn’t going to happen.

 

           “Lux please stay for a few moments.” Lux had just gotten to the door but reluctantly turned around. Poppy, who was the last out, closed the door behind her. “Please sit Lux.” Lux took a seat in Lulu’s desk at the front and was not looking forward to the upcoming conversation.

 

           In the hall, Poppy and Lulu were going to wait, but saw Amy waiting outside and they took off, knowing that Lux would probably confide in them, but those two were friends long before they met.

 

           “Lux, I’m worried about you. In the past weeks, your performance, homework, and well you in general seems to be slipping. Is something wrong?” Lux looked at Ms. Teller and instantly thousands of things ran through her mind.

 

           ‘Sure something is wrong. I’m a Star Guardian and not by choice. I’m the leader of 5 teenagers fighting the void to defend our planets. I’m frequently tired out of my mind. I worry about everything now. I can’t get a decent night’s sleep anymore. I’m cold all the time now. I’m dealing with probably a borderline psychopath who can’t seem to stop cutting sarcastic comments. The void is constantly attacking which just makes everything previous worse. But apart from that I’m great. How are you?’ Lux barely managed to prevent all of that from coming out.

 

           “It’s just stress. All of these things recently have made things difficult. Constant attacks. Hearing about details from my dad. Being caught in them constantly. I just can’t seem to get a good night’s sleep lately.” Ok one detail from that internal rant that could come out.

 

           “Well that does explain a few things, but not all of them.” Ms. Tell said after a few moments. “I can tell you aren’t telling me everything, and I’m going to let you keep those secrets. If there is anything you need, you can tell me. You can go now.” Lux hated keeping secrets, from anyone lately, and now she had to add another name to the list. Lux knew that it was probably the frequent cuts, bruises, and other various injuries she kept getting in the fights that caused her to worry. Still it was nice to know she was looking out. Lux quickly grabbed her bag and headed out the door. Outside she turned to Amy, who was waiting there.

 

           “So are you going to tell me or do I have to guess.” Amy knew Lux well enough to know that she would talk.

 

           “She was just worried about me and asked me if there was anything I wanted to talk about. I said no and she said I’m still keeping things from her.” Lux looked at Amy and Lux felt her stomach drop to the floor.

 

           “Well you are. I know you well enough Lux. You are keeping secrets and for what reason I have no idea. I also know you well enough to know that you don’t keep them without reason. So I’m going to pry, but you do need to talk to someone eventually about it.”

 

           ‘Sure. Talk about how I fight the void every few days. The only other ones I can talk to about this are in the exact same hole as I am.’

 

           “I mean you can’t keep it a secret forever.”

 

           ‘Try me.’

 

           “Just be careful Lux. I’ve never seen you like this before. It worries me and you know how I hate to worry.” Lux couldn’t even think of a response to that one. She was thankful Amy didn’t hear the sarcastic comments she came up with, but Lux also know that Amy was not going to let this go.

 

           “I know you do Amy. I have my reasons. Maybe I should see someone. I mean I’m sure therapists across the city are booked solid though.” Lux managed to get Amy to simile and that was enough.

 

           “You do need to talk to someone Lux. But for now, how about a shopping trip?” Amy left it as a question and Lux just smiled. “Good. Because you were coming no matter what.” With that, Amy took off and Lux followed close behind her. For once, she hoped for a normal day. Lux was so focused on a normal day, that she didn’t even notice Poppy and Lulu waiting for her. However both of them, when they saw Lux and Amy exiting, decided to just let them go.

 

           Lux did enjoy her afternoon as she and Amy spent not only their money, but their time at the mall and just wasted the afternoon. Lux knew that they were supposed to be preparing for Kog’Maw’s next attack, but suddenly she didn’t care, and she reminded herself that until they found Malzahar’s robes, they couldn’t do much.

 

           The fact Lux wasted her afternoon at the mall wasn’t lost on the rest of the team. All of whom, agreed separately that they needed a day off.

 

           Janna spent the day doing work and once it was done, she finally started a new season of a show she’d been putting off for a while. Zephyr also enjoyed the day off, napping in the sun, then on Janna’s bed.

 

           Poppy spent the day with her father in his forge making a sword for a client. She missed doing this but her parents, under the illusion that she was always studying, understood.

 

           Lulu spent the day just wandering around the city’s parks. She didn’t like the fact there wasn’t a forest nearby, but there were enough dense groves to make it worth it. She missed doing this, as did Pix apparently as he accompanied her and seemed to enjoy the day off.

 

           Jinx, still new, didn’t waste her afternoon. She didn’t waste time after school. Jinx first headed to the arcade in the mall, where she saw Lux but didn’t try and say high for more reason than one. Once she ran out of coins, Jinx headed home and played more games until she was too tired to keep going.  

 

           That night, the team slept peacefully, but there were forces at work. Vel’Koz was using all of his contacts to find Malzahar’s robes, and so were the summoners from his former tower.

* * *

 

           Kog’Maw was also looking, but no one was coming up with results, which made Malzahar furious. Malzahar needed a good distraction to prevent the guardians from preventing him from getting Baron Nashor to the planet, but even then, they could still be in a bad fight. Malzahar was looking himself, but he had to either rely on Kog’Maw or corrupt his tome, using precious energy he couldn’t afford to waste, and use that. Neither option was a good one, but the first at least prevented the use of energy that was going to be very much needed in the coming days.

 

           Malzahar floated around the throne room and quickly knew that in order to give everyone more time, he would have to send Baron down to the planet. With that distraction, he should have enough time to find what he is looking for. The main issue is that he didn’t have a good way to deploy Baron without making his intentions known. He would have to get the guardians into a fight, then deploy Baron. Just how to get them into a fight would be the bigger question.

 

           Malzahar moved off to find Kog’Maw and found him in his room eating. Kog’Maw turned when Malzahar entered.

 

           “Is there something I can do for you Great Prophet?” Kog’Maw looked very apprehensive as he saw Malzahar enter. Whenever he saw him visit, it was usually never followed by something good.

 

           “Yes. I need you to distract the guardians. And distract them long enough for me to get Baron to the surface. I do not care how you do it, all I care about is I need enough time.  You must generate that time.” Malzahar finished and left. Kog’Maw’s mind now ran in rapid fire mode. He had previously been working on finding Malzahar’s robes, and now he had to work on getting a plan to distract 5, possibly 6, very powerful individuals.

 

           One thing Kog’Maw had working for him was the fact that the guardians were working on the assumption that they needed more energy. So if he attacked under that premise, then he might be able to distract them long enough. There were two problems with this. First issue that their Zz pool was dangerously depleted. The last few attacks had already depleted their already low reserves. They needed to rebuild before they could do anything else. The other issue is that he couldn’t do it alone. Using any minion would help, but it still wouldn’t do. He needed as many as he could get, but how many could get was the real question.

* * *

 

           Everyone was on edge after 3 days where there weren’t any void attacks. Early on, this was seen as a bad sign, as a powerful attack was usually coming. In the present climate however, a pause was good. It meant that the void was busy rebuilding its forces, and there would be an attack, but it would be reserved. The real questions are when and where would the attack fall. More specifically when.

 

           Lux kept pondering the questions in between taking notes for her classes. Ms. Teller kept not noticing since Lux was seen as actually notes, but both Poppy and Lulu noticed Lux’s behavior and were worried themselves. Lulu hadn’t been around long enough but Poppy had known in the past that this probably wasn’t a good sign. However, even as Poppy thought, she knew that recently that the Void attacks have been a bit haphazard.

 

           As the bell rang for lunch, everyone was quickly breaking into groups. Lux for the first time in a while, sat with Amy and her other friends. Janna sat with some friends as well. Poppy enjoyed lunch with Lulu under a favorite tree. Jinx for her part sat alone with Shiro and Kuro. All five Guardians did glance at each other over the course of the lunch hour, but none of them approached each other. Everyone seemed to silently agree that having a few days off from each other was probably not a bad idea.

 

           As the afternoon began, the classes seemed to be shorter, but that was only because they had a training secession after school and they would be working on various things for another void attack. There was almost a sense of hopefulness in the air as they worked through their afternoon classes and waited for what would probably be an explosive afternoon. When the final bell rang, the team sprinted to the tower, but Jinx, having left her last class early, was the first to arrive.

 

           As the team entered the tower one by one, Lux was a bit disappointed in Jinx for ditching her last class, but softened once Janna let slip that it was a study hall. Once Lulu had arrived, as she had to run home first, they all headed upstairs, only to find Nasus working on a few of the machines. He turned to the team as they entered. “Sorry, you are going to have to wait about an hour. I was looking over everything for your training today and found a few things that needed to be fixed, or let’s say that things could be bad. Sorry.”

 

           “No worries. So what to do?” Lux turned to the rest of the team.

 

           “I’m going to go take a nap. Someone get me up.” Jinx didn’t waste time as she headed up the stairs to the third floor followed by Shiro and Kuro. Lux looked a bit put out, hoping to turn Jinx around.

 

           “I’m going to take a nap as well. Didn’t sleep well last night.” Poppy said as she followed Jinx upstairs. Lux was a bit surprised, but if Poppy wanted a nap, she probably didn’t sleep well. Lux turned to Janna and looked around for Lulu. Janna nodded back towards the stairs heading back down. Lux nodded and the two joined Lulu in the bottom level of the tower. Lulu was already at the table, drawing away and using a lot of purple for some reason. Lux looked over, but Lulu was not paying attention and was completely focused on what she was doing. Not wanting to disturb her, Lux and Janna took a seat at the island and broke out their homework.

 

           An hour later, Nasus came back down and nodded to Lux, who put away her homework and headed up the stairs to get Poppy and Jinx. Janna tapped Lulu on the shoulder, and she looked up and nodded. “Just a second. Just want to finish this.” Janna nodded and head up to the second floor.

 

           On the top floor, Lux looked around and knocked on Poppy’s door first. “Poppy. We are good to go. Poppy?” Lux was about to open the door when she heard a groan.

 

           “I’ll be down in a minute.” Poppy said, with a notable annoyance in her voice. Lux smiled and headed over to Jinx’s door.

 

           “Jinx? Jinx!” Lux didn’t hear anything and she then opened the door. Jinx was still sound asleep, but Shiro and Kuro were right beside her. Jinx was even careful to give them enough room. As she crossed the threshold, Shrio woke up, yawned, and looked to Lux. Lux nodded and Shiro seemed to understand. Jumping up, Shrio knocked Kuro awake, Kuro was clearly not happy with being woken, and Shiro nudged Jinx’s head until she woke up.

 

           “Time already?” Jinx asked as she opened her eyes and turned to Lux and snickered a bit. “Sorry, I’ve always been a sound sleeper. Let’s go you two.” Jinx picked up her two poros and headed out. Lux stood there puzzled for a few seconds, before following. Once Lux entered the room, she saw the rest of the team there. Taking a deep breath, she stood before the team, once she got Jinx’s attention.

 

           “Ok. Today is about working together. Poppy, you are good working alone, but you need to work on keeping your eyes open.” Poppy nodded and had a bit of a scowl on her face, but knew Lux was right. “As for the rest of us, we need to work with other parings. Jinx, you will be working with Janna, while Lulu you work with me. Janna and Lulu, your job will be to control the battle and make sure me and Jinx are covered, protected, and not blindsided by things. Now let’s go.”

 

           The team pulled their pendants, while Lux pulled her locket. “Star Guardian Power Up!”

 

           The team split up carefully and while Poppy worked with Nasus on keeping a good perspective and keeping track of targets. Which was accomplished with some minor hiccups as more than one dummy caught her off guard and knocked her to the ground more than once. Poppy however, got right back up and kept moving around, while Nasus kept doing his best to knock her off her feet.

 

           Janna was in the middle of a headache as she kept trying to control the battle around Jinx, but Jinx, given her complete disregard for just about everything around her, was moving around randomly. Eventually Janna just got frustrated. “Jinx, control yourself. I can’t keep you shielded while you run around like that.” Jinx just turned and stuck her tongue out, but seeing the look on Janna’s face, Jinx slowed down and found she wasn’t being hit as much as Janna was able to use her powers to keep her safe. Jinx however was hit more than once by Janna “missing” a few dummies. Jinx just shot Janna a look every time this happened. Janna just shrugged as a reply.

 

           Lux and Lulu were having more luck, but Lux still took a few hits as Lulu kept wandering and trying to do more than she should. “Lulu, just focus on the shields and distractions for now. If you see something, take it, but your purpose is to guard me right now.” Lulu just nodded and the training went better, but Lux was still getting hit more than she should. When she got clobbered by a dummy, she turned to Lulu, only to see her running down the stairs. Lux extracted herself from the training area and headed down to see Lulu furiously scribbling on the paper she was working on earlier.

 

           Lux put her baton down on the counter and ducked behind Lulu. Lux knew better than to say anything when Lulu got like this, but what was more unusual is that she didn’t power down. Lux turned to the stairs in order to head back up, only to see Janna, Poppy, Jinx, and Nasus coming down the stairs. Even Jinx looked concerned as she allowed Shiro and Kuro to be their normal selves after carrying Kuro down on her shoulder.

 

           “What’s going on?” Janna asked as she hovered over Lulu.

 

           “I’m not sure.” Lux said as she turned to Lulu again. “She started spacing out, then came rushing down here, and started working like this. She didn’t even power down, which doesn’t sit well with me. I’m going to get Vel’Koz.” Lux walked towards the path between the tower and Vel’Koz’s office. Looking through the small window, she confirmed Vel’Koz was alone, she knocked and entered. Vel’Koz looked up from his notes, and quickly moved to lock the door, but Lux held up her hand.

 

           “Vel’Koz can you come to the tower, Lulu’s scribbling something and none of us know what it is. But considering she left training and didn’t power down, it’s a bit worrying.” Lux tried to keep the tension out of her voice, but failed.

 

           “Of course.” Vel’Koz quickly followed Lux back to the tower and the scene they found was Lulu still working feverously on the paper. Vel’Koz could quickly see why Lux, and eve the rest of the team was concerned. Lux left Dorcha and Solas to keep an eye on Lulu while she worked and they rotated. Lulu kept working for the next hour or so while the rest of the team kept training. They took turns keeping an eye on Lulu while she worked. Jinx took the opportunity to try and connect with Lulu, but quickly found that in her present state that was impossible. Still she did manage to find one thing about Lulu that they connected on, they were both outsiders and that was something they could share.

 

           Eventually, during Poppy’s shift, Lulu looked up. Poppy nodded and quickly ran upstairs. Lulu stepped back from the table and Vel’Koz hovered over the paper taking a look at it carefully. The rest of the team came running down the stairs only to find Vel’Koz without a positive answer.

 

           “Well, it could be a lot of things. A lot of things from the void are purple,” Jinx barely suppressed a laugh as Vel’Koz indicated himself. “However, I can’t identify what this is.”

 

           “Sorry, it just came to me and I did the best I could.” Lulu looked a bit put out, but Lux put her hand on her shoulder. Lulu looked a bit better.

 

           “Do you have any ideas?” Lux asked turning to Vel’Koz.

 

           “A few. There are plenty of worms, or things like look like them. It could be a minion, or it could be Kog’Maw in disguise. It could be a new minion, or even a new monster that Malzahar came up with. I mean there are a lot of things it could be.” Vel’Koz fell silent as he floated low to the ground, which indicated he was still thinking.

 

           “Well what else could it be?” Janna asked, seeing Vel’Koz’s posture.

 

           “Well there is one thing, but I doubt Malzahar can deploy it.” The team took seats around the room clearly interested. “It is a massive monster that we called Baron Nashor. It is a corrupted worm that was from our first invasion here on Runeterra. Around the portal site as I’m sure you are all well aware, there was a lot of farmland, at least originally. Now it is obviously much different. As part of these farmlands, were a lot of large worms that the name has been lost because of how many were lost. I hear rumors they are coming back, but those are still unconfirmed.

 

           “But back on point. One of these worms gobbled up an energy orb and was immediately corrupted. Seeing the advantage, we carefully fed it, and eventually it reached a massive size, with the appetite to match. I have no idea how Malzahar kept it fed all of these years, but to deploy Baron to a planet, I did calculate that before they left me here. The amount of energy is massive, but the rewards are also large. It is still a massive risk for him. The only reason I can see Malzahar deploying it is if he’s desperate enough.”  


           “I’d say he’s probably desperate enough.” Lux interrupted and Vel’Koz nodded.

 

           “Possibly, but again he needs a lot of energy. Even my most optimistic calculations point to the fact while he does have enough, he would cause the energy reserves to deplete to the point of desperation. I doubt he would be that desperate, at least right now. The amount of energy he would need to penetrate the barriers would be even worse.” The team stayed silent as they pondered this.

 

           “Um…what about the barriers in their current condition?” Janna asked after a few minutes. Vel’Koz stopped pacing and looked up, then his eye widened.

 

           “I hadn’t considered that. I will need to make new calculations. Again though, I’m considering things based on old information. I’ll need a few hours to make the necessary calculations. Perhaps longer. Until then, I suggest you all go home. There is little more you can do here.” Vel’Koz quickly floated out. Nasus shrugged, nodded to the team, and followed.

 

           “Well don’t need to tell me twice.” Jinx made for the door, before Lux grabbed her. “Hey!”

 

           “Um Jinx?” Lux pointed to Jinx’s outfit. Jinx just nervously giggled.

 

           “Oops. Power down.” Jinx transformed back to her normal self, grabbed her bag again, and headed out. Everyone else followed. Lux stayed behind for a few minutes, looking at Lulu’s drawing again, before she finally grabbed her bag and headed home, arriving just in time for dinner. Lux didn’t need an invitation to sit down and eat, but clearly she didn’t keep her feelings hidden.

 

           “Lux something wrong?” Lux looked up at her mother and finally shook her head.

 

           “Just an upcoming test I’m a bit worried about. It’s just nerves.” Lux again had to lie, which she was getting annoyed with, but she had no choice.

 

           “Well, you should do ok honey. I’m sure of it. Just keep focused and you will do fine.” That was the end of it, but Lux took a quick glance at Garen, who could clearly tell his sister was hiding something, but he didn’t press the issue. Lux for a while now suspected Garen was onto her secret, but he never said anything or inquired. Everyone had their secrets, and he clearly wasn’t in a hurry to learn hers. But still, it was a bit unsettling.

 

           That evening saw everyone trying to keep their minds busy, but eventually no one could try and focus on work, even Lux, who finally gave up and just started playing games until she noticed the time. Checking her phone one last time and seeing nothing, Lux headed for bed.

 

           The following morning still saw nothing from Vel’Kox and considering it was a usual day, that made school only that much more intolerable right now. Everyone wanted to be ready for what was to come, but no one could get out of class without rousing suspicion. Well maybe Jinx, but she even didn’t want to get in more trouble than she was already in. Not to mention that getting out of detention without being noticed was rather difficult. So she passed the time by drawing, writing, and twirling her long pigtails, much to annoyance of the teacher.

 

           Lux, Poppy, and Lulu seemed to be checking their phones every 5 minutes as class dragged on. Lux did indeed have a test, but it was so easy she finished it, and the work that was assigned afterward quickly. With little to do, Lux found herself looking out the window and eventually pulling out a notebook and drawing up a training schedule for everyone. The lunch bell was a relief as everyone seemed to again have the same idea and separated, except for Lulu and Jinx, who ate lunch together in the park.

 

           “So you have any idea yet what you drew?” Jinx asked before taking a big bite of a sandwich.

 

           “Nope.” Lulu’s peppy voice wasn’t gone as she picked over her food carefully. Pix, Shiro, and Kuro were also eating, but much more slowly as they sampled each other’s food. “It just came to me, and then it was gone. It was weird.” Lulu let her voice trail off as Jinx thought a bit more.

 

           “Well hopefully it will come back to you. I’m eager to blow something up.” Jinx looked out and saw a nice blue sky, and was a bit put out.

 

           “Just watch what you are blowing up. Things could turn yucky.” Lulu said as she resumed eating, and Jinx was just sitting there totally confused.

 

           “Ok.” Jinx really couldn’t think of anything else to say to that.

 

           The afternoon dragged on even worse, but it was made easier when Vel’Koz messaged the team that he had finished his calculations and to meet at the tower later. Lux smiled, but a growing monster in her stomach told her it was probably bad news. That or it was lunch making a comeback. Or both.

 

           As the final bell rang, the team didn’t need an excuse to run for the tower and Vel’Koz’s demeanor told them everything, the news wasn’t good. Lux, being the first to arrive, now knew it was both and sat down. Jinx, arriving next took a seat at the bar, Janna joined Jinx there, Poppy took a seat at the table, and was followed by Lulu.

 

           “Well I did run some calculations and based on that, Malzahar has enough energy to deploy Baron Nashor with his current reserves. Now, what this does mean is that his reserves will be depleted, so it is a gamble if he does. So sort of a good news, bad news situation.” The mood in the room was one of depression mixed with a bit of anger. Lux knew that the team wasn’t even close to being ready to battle Baron Nashor.

 

           “If that ends up being true, then you all need to be ready. We do have a full team here, but you all need to be united in order to be at your best. Since you have been together for only a short time, that will be difficult, but it needs to happen.” Dorcha seemed to be in mothering mode as she spoke, only to have Jinx puncture it a second later.

 

           “So teambuilding exercises?” Lux rolled her eyes but couldn’t help laughing with the rest. Jinx somehow knew the right things to say and yet be rude at the same time. Dorcha just gave her a look.

 

           “Maybe not like that, but you all need to work together, be committed, and trust each other. Only then will you be at your full strength.” Dorcha seems to know that Jinx still had reservations but she also knew that until she found a purpose, it wouldn’t change. Jinx would have to find her purpose.

 

           The afternoon went with them training and while everyone was working well together, they all were apprehensive of the upcoming battle. Especially with another 2 school days before them. Lux knew that if there was a serious attack, the odds of them getting away, were extremely slim without being noticed.

* * *

 

           On the moon, Malzahar looked over Runeterra and saw his plans in motion. Baron was ready, and so was his plan. He would need to go to Runeterra in order so summon Baron to the planet. Kog’Maw would therefore have to fight in the city to draw the Guardians away. They couldn’t afford to use much else, so Malzahar was taking everyone except Cho’Gath to the surface. Kha’Zix, Rek’Sai, and Kog’Maw would have to distract the guardians long enough for him to summon Baron, and that would be no easy task.

 

           “Great Prophet, everything is in place and we are ready to move. I would suggest going down tonight and being ready when the morning dawns.” Cho’Gath said as he looked over the plan one more time for anything they could have missed.

 

           “Hmm…I agree. Prepare to leave, but not just yet. We will go just before dawn as to waste as little energy as possible. We will then wait for midday and then attack. Because of the schedules most of the people keep, they will be in chaos and we might even be able to grab energy along the way. Everyone get ready, we leave in a few hours.”

 

           The void prepared themselves for a final fight, or they hoped it would be a final fight. Just when the sun was about to creep over the horizon in the summoning area near the old portal, Malzahar ripped open a portal and held it open for everyone else. Cho’Gath closed the portal behind him and saw to Baron Nashor. The Baron however was on his own time as he was asleep. Shaking his head, Cho’Gath sent spikes into him to wake him up.

 

           “Was that really necessary? I know the plan it doesn’t begin for a few hours so why wake me so early?” Baron was clearly not enjoying being woken up and sneered at Cho’Gath as he spoke.

 

           “Because we need to get you ready or did you forget about that.” Baron opened his mouth, then closed it again. Nodding. He did indeed forget Cho’Gath needed to do a few things beforehand. Cho’Gath began the few rituals he needed to perform as they would help Baron reach the surface and make it easier for Malzahar as well.

 

           “Those guardians won’t know what hit them.” Cho’Gath said as he finished.

 

           “Don’t underestimate them. From what I’ve seen, even raw, they are capable of many things.” Cho’Gath just sent another set of spikes into Baron as a reply, and he sent his spikes as a response.

* * *

 

           The team woke the following morning and all 5 of them were ice cold, despite the warm day. They all knew that the day had arrived and faking sick to get out of school wasn’t hard. Deciding together that getting as much sleep as possible, they all met up at the tower knowing that Malzahar would probably attack around noon, if his past was any indication, they decided to get up around 11.

 

           As their alarms went off, they all struggled downstairs. Lux wasn’t the only one coming down in pants and a hoddie as Jinx wasn’t far behind, clutching Shiro and Kuro to her. Neither one of them however seemed to be enjoying it. The bottom floor of the tower was warm as Poppy had cranked up the heat and it was clear that was the reason Vel’Koz and Nasus were staying away.

 

           “Oh I can’t take this anymore.” Janna said after they were all down for about 10 minutes. She pulled her pendant. “Star Guardian Power Up!” She transformed and sat back down on the stool she had just vacated.

 

           “Warmer?” Jinx asked, still clearly cold.

 

           “Yes. As in this is comfortable.” Janna said as she looked around. Not waiting, the rest of the team joined her.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Within 30 seconds, Poppy turned the heat back down. Their powers were insulating them against the cold the void was putting out, but it was clear that they were focusing the efforts or the whole city would be affected. Lux however was looking at the city map.

 

           “OK we can’t just sit here. Lulu and Jinx, head towards central park. Janna head out towards the office park. Debonair always seems to find you first.” Janna just nodded in reply, knowing she was probably right. “Poppy come with me, and we will cover the riverwalk. Hopefully we can catch whoever it is quickly and stop whatever they are planning.” They all nodded and headed out. Lux was about to follow Poppy when Jinx came back in, grabbed Shiro, who she’d forgotten and ran back out. Shaking her head, Lux followed Poppy to the riverwalk. Once there, they found a secluded rooftop and kept an eye out. Janna, Lulu, and Jinx had done the same at their locations.

 

           As noon came and went, they were all starting to get nervous. They knew today was an attack and nothing was happening. As 12:30 rolled around, they were all starting to get nervous. Lux checked the nearby bank clock for what seemed like the millionth time, and looked around again. Just the usual hustle and bustle of the lunch hour.

 

           “Ok can someone please do something” Lux wasn’t the only one who wasn’t amused by the wait.

 

           “Be careful what you wish for Poppy.” Lux said. But no sooner were the words out of her mouth did they hear the first screams. Looking over the other side of the roof, they saw Kha’Zix, Rek’Sai, and Kog’Maw targeting the riverwalk. “Well you asked for it.” Lux turned to see an annoyed Poppy and they jumped down and charged. Lux threw a singularity followed by a Barrier onto Poppy as she slammed Rek’Sai into a nearby tree. Kog’Maw turned to face them, clearly not expecting a counterattack that quickly, he changed up to target the guardians directly. However, he was quickly hit by Lux’s binding, and instead just threw up his acid to try and get at least one of them, but missed every single shot.

* * *

 

           Lulu and Jinx, who were watching Central Park, were just as board, but were taking turns watching out. Just when it seemed like nothing would happen, Lulu pointed towards the river. “There!” Jinx jumped up from where she had been sitting and took a look. Clearly something was happening as people were running from the area, but they couldn’t see anything directly.

 

           “Well then, let’s go blow something up.” Jinx jumped from the roof, followed by Lulu, and after they landed, they quickly sprinted towards the riverwalk.

* * *

 

           Janna, being bored out of her mind and looking around eventually just sat with her arm on the ledge looking out. At least Dorcha and Solas had come with so she would have someone to talk to. She looked at the clock on a nearby building it seemed like every 10 seconds.

 

           “You know that isn’t going to make time pass any faster right?” Dorcha asked as Janna turned her head away from it entirely.

 

           “Yeah but it makes me feel better.” Janna said. After another 15 minutes of waiting, it seemed like nothing was going to come, they all sensed it. “Ok but where?” Janna checked in the direction of Central Park, and nothing really out of the ordinary, so only one other place. She floated down from the roof, and sprinted towards the fight.

* * *

 

           Back at the river, Lux and Poppy were doing all they could despite being outnumbered 3 to 2. Lux kept Poppy safe, while making sure to throw her singularities and bindings to keep herself safe. Just when it looked like she missed a binding on Kha’Zix, he screamed in pain as he was hit in the chest by something. Lux turned to see Lulu and Jinx running into the fight. Jinx didn’t need much to open fire with Shiro and Lulu moved into the protection field with Lux.

 

           Now with the odds switched, Kog’Maw and Rek’Sai were clearly moving to try and separate the guardians, but the team held together, at least until Kha’Zix leaped into the middle of them while Rek’Sai unburrowed right beneath Poppy, forcing everyone to scatter. Kog’Maw targeted Jinx, and opened up. After 5 seconds, he stopped only to see Jinx on her feet, and surrounded by a barrier. Janna had arrived and immediately threw a twister, knocking Kog’Maw into the air, and forcing Kha’Zix to jump to avoid it. Rek’Sai had to be content with a hammer to the face.

 

           As Poppy missed a hammer strike, still being a bit off balance, she quickly threw her buckler at Rek’Sai to generate a shield but it proved unnecessary as another large hammer came in and knocked the Void Burrower away. Poppy looked around to see Debonair had joined the fight. He immediately opened fire from a distance with Jinx as it was now 2 on 1 and Kog’Maw could see his plan failing. The problem was Malzahar needed more time. He didn’t know how much, but he needed all of the time they could buy.

 

           They all attacked again and while they managed to split the Guardians, it wasn’t in the way they wanted. Lux and Jinx focused on Kog’Maw, Janna and Debonair on Rek’Sai, while Poppy and Lulu tackled Kha’Zix. Each fight was one of dodges and misses as it was becoming apparent that they were stalling for time. ‘Time for what though’ was the thought that ran through Lux’s head repeatedly. The attacks started to get more focused and the team started forcing the void into a smaller and smaller area where they could be hit from all sides.

 

           No sooner did they start getting hammered from all sides did a loud roar echo over the land. Kog’Maw knew they had succeeded and Kha’Zix wasted no time in opening a portal and all three vanished through it. It took a few seconds, but once the cold hit the team, they all felt like they were in the poles. Whatever just appeared, it was massive, and it was angry.

 

           “Come on, let’s go.” Lux yelled and the team got up and followed her. It wasn’t hard to spot where the disturbance was, at the old portal site. As the team raced to the site, the temperature got colder, and it was clear the police had the same idea, judging by the number of squad cars going in their same direction. Arriving at the old site, they saw Malzahar, but they also saw one big purple worm.

 

           “I’m guessing that’s Baron Nashor” Poppy said as the worm noticed them and reared up. Malzahar didn’t waste any time and quickly fled through another portal. Baron however was clearly in the mood to fight.

 

           “Anyone got any ideas?” Janna asked as Baron was clearly waiting for them to make the first move.

 

           “Um…just shoot it?” Jinx suggested but quickly backtracked as everyone just glared at her.

 

           “Ok, we have to force it to retreat into the desert if we are to have any chance of keeping it away from the city. Blue, Debonair, use your hammers to force it back and keep it off balance. Purple and Green, control the fight, and keep us safe. Red, you and I, just try and do as much damage as we can.” Everyone nodded, but no sooner did they all start moving did the whole plan go up in flames.

 

           Baron had clearly been expecting a melee attack and knocked Poppy and Debonair back, where they both collided with trees, rather hard. Lux broke off to make sure they were ok, but both were up before she got to them. Debonair transformed his weapon and Poppy charged back in. Lux threw a barrier and Debonair fired at Baron’s heads to keep him distracted. Jinx, seeing this, kept up her fire on one of Baron’s mid sections to make sure he didn’t see the attack coming. It worked, but it clearly wasn’t that effective damage wise. Objective wise, it did force Baron back down the hill and closer to the desert on the outskirts of the city. The problem was that there was a huge field and a small forest between here and there.

 

           “Keep forcing him back.” Lux yelled and Debonair and Jinx switched to a near constant barrage of Baron’s various heads. Poppy kept going around and landing hits where she could, but she had moved more into a distraction role. Janna and Lulu were doing all they could to keep everyone safe, but even when Lux switched to protection rather than damage, it wasn’t enough. Baron was able to keep them at bay. However, it did seem that the cumulative effects of their damage was beginning to take effect.

 

           Baron roared loudly, flexed its whole body and threw its attackers back. Baron had bought itself some breathing room as it tried to get a better perspective. Jinx recovered quickly and switched to Kuro as she kept up firing, but from her strained face, it was clear she was stressed about the fight. So was everyone else as Lux took a look around at the team. Dodging another attack, Jinx switched back to Shiro and opened fire while Lulu provided her with a shield from Pix.

 

           Baron however, clearly was becoming annoyed as he flexed again and everyone had to dodge out of the way, but their objective was accomplished. Baron retreated further back into the field and here, there was at least a bit more cover from rocks and a few trees. The team used the cover to keep up the fire on Baron as they kept forcing him back, but it appeared he was now willing to stand his ground as a spike tipped tentacle erupted from the ground beneath Lux, who shielded herself but was still injured from rolling when she came back down. The tentacle tried to hit her, but Lux managed to dodge out of the way, barely.

 

           Baron, seeing its effectiveness, immediately shot acid towards everyone else, who dodged out of the way. Lux, Janna, and Lulu were now shielding Jinx, Debonair, and Poppy respectively as they kept fighting. Baron however was beginning to falter as he missed several of his acid shots as Jinx and Debonair unloaded on his heads. Jinx had switched to Kuro and Debonair was using his gates to accelerate his shots. Baron lashed out again with his tentacles and managed to knock the entire team down, then turned and moved further back. The team got to their feet and kept up the pursuit.

 

           The problem now was that Baron, while leaving a very obvious trail through the small forest, the team was hard pressed to catch up and avoid Baron’s attacks along the way. The team kept up the pace however and eventually everyone arrived at a clearing, where Baron was now quite content to make a stand. Roaring and turning to his pursuers, he welcomed them to the clearing by throwing acid their way. The team dodged, but not without several of them landing hard.

 

           Baron attempted to throw more acid, but everyone managed to get to their feet and kept up the attack. Switching back to the original plan, Janna and Lulu kept Debonair and Poppy covered while Lux teamed with Jinx to keep her covered and doing damage at the same time. The cumulative effects were clearly starting take effect as Baron started missing more, and his tentacles were way off on their attacks. The team as a whole kept up the fire while remaining on the move to prevent more attacks.

 

           Frustrated, Baron roared and reared up his whole body and swung at the team. Lux, Janna, and Jinx managed to dodge out of the way in time, but Poppy, Lulu, and Debonair took the hit, flying into nearby trees. They all stood up, but it was clear that the impact had done some damage. Debonair was shaking his head as he took a few steps before heading back to the fight. Poppy just picked herself up and charged back into it. Lulu took a minute to regain her sense before she came back. In the meantime, Lux, Janna, and Jinx kept the fire up with Janna shielding Jinx and Lux providing damage and support.

 

           Roaring again, Baron tried to sweep the team, but it didn’t do anything as the whole team managed to dodge out of the way. Seeing this, Baron turned and fled again, and again the team pursued until they reached the desert. A scar from the First Void War, the desert began sharply and Baron retreated over the sand dunes, eventually burrowing into the soft sand to escape the attacks that the team was still sending out. Finally having a chance to breathe, the team collapsed on a nearby dune. Debonair turned to the Guardians.

 

           “I’m going to get going. Good luck.” He said and quickly made his exit, but it was clear he was injured. Lux turned to the rest of the team, who were clearly exhausted. Eventually though, everyone stood up, with Lulu getting to her feet last.

 

           "Ok everyone, let’s get back to the tower. We need to figure out a new strategy.” Lux started to turn but Jinx was clearly not having it.

 

           “Strategy? How can we expect to fight that?! That thing was huge and nearly beat us by itself. Imagine if someone else had stuck around to fight with it? We’d be picking ourselves up after being who knows what? This isn’t what I signed up for, and neither did any of you!” To say that Jinx was angry was an understatement. Her face was red, from both anger and exhaustion. Shiro and Kuro were cowering with Pix, and all three had taken shelter behind Zephyr.

 

           “You think any of us knew what we were in for Jinx? None of us did. We have risen to every challenge and we will rise to this. We are better than they are.” Lux tried to defuse the situation, but it only made Jinx angrier.

 

           “We are better than they are? Are we immortal beings that have had who knows how many years to perfect their craft? We are a bunch of teenagers who were given magical powers without any instruction manual.”

 

           “To be fair, no one reads them anymore.” Janna cut Jinx off trying to bring her down, but it was clear that her attempt at humor wasn’t received well.

 

           “That doesn’t matter Janna. None of it matters. We can’t fight that. We just can’t. I’m done. Sure it was fun, but I didn’t sign up to be killed doing this.” Jinx started to walk away, but Lux grabbed her arm.

 

           “I’ve almost died doing this. I literally had a cannon in my face. I had no idea what I was getting into but I accepted it. This isn’t about just us Jinx,” Lux let go of Jinx’s arm, “it’s about everyone here. If we fail, who knows what will happen. It’s us or nothing.” Lux wiped tears from her eyes as she remembered the incident well, but Jinx just huffed.

 

           “Fine, I’ll play, if we die or whatever, who takes our place?” Looking around, Jinx had her answer. “No one. Why should we keep fighting? Who are we fighting for at this point? We can’t be expected to fight something like that, at least not for long. I’d say today we got lucky. VERY lucky. We are just teenagers. We have our own problems, and this is one I don’t intend to deal with anymore. Jinx turned on her heels, but Lux reached out again and grabbed her arm. This time, Jinx shook off Lux’s hand and stormed off. She powered down, pulled her pendant from her neck, and threw it into the dunes.

 

           Jinx then stopped, and looked back at Shiro and Kuro and nodded, but neither of them moved. Jinx smiled and nodded, then turned and headed back into the forest. Janna just watched her go with a stoic face knowing that she just needed time. Poppy just huffed and watched with frustration. She didn’t know what she was signing up for either, but she was here and she was going to do everything she could. Lulu looked sad but stayed on her feet as Pix, Shiro, and Kuro huddled on her shoulders. Lux however rached out again in vein, then collapsed onto her knees in the sand and started crying.

 

           Janna headed over and knelt beside Lux and eventually managed to get Lux to her feet. “Come on, we need to get back.” Lux nodded and the team headed back, minus one. As they left the desert, Lulu grabbed Jinx’s pendant and caught up. As they reached the city, it was clear they were still recovering from the riverwalk attack. Lux turned to the team and they all powered down. They were walking back to the tower but stopped near the attack site to see the damage. It was clear they got away with some energy, but not a lot. Vel’Koz was on the scene and when he saw them, he smiled a bit, but it turned quickly to concern as he noticed the absence of Jinx. Nasus nodded his head towards the long car and the team discretely as possible made their way to it. Once they were all in, Nasus drove them back to the tower. He also noticed Jinx’s absence but didn’t say anything about it.

 

           Once inside the tower, Dorcha and Solas were initially happy but quickly noticed something. “Where’s Jinx?” Dorcha asked, looking concerned.

 

           “She quit.” Poppy said, the anger in her voice unmistakable. Dorcha and Solas just looked shocked.

 

           “She signed the contract didn’t she? She knows we can hold her to it right?” Solas said after a few seconds.

 

           “I believe her response to that was ‘TL:DR’ and ‘whatever’ respectively.” Janna said as she helped Lux into one of the chairs at the table. “Honestly, I think she just needs time. I mean that fight was the worst one yet.”

 

           “She isn’t reliable and I knew it.” Poppy interjected and everyone turned to her. “Look, she was sketchy from the beginning and after just one mission I could tell she couldn’t be relied upon to fight.”

 

           “Well the problem is that we are stuck with her.” Dorcha reminded Poppy in a very motherly voice. Poppy just pouted. “We will have to convince her to come back or we will be in trouble. We can’t transfer powers just yet but we need a full team if we stand any chance.”

 

           “Just what do you want us to do?” Lux finally spoke and everyone turned to her with softened expressions. “She quit. But she was also right. None of us knew what we were in for. I mean, if any one of us knew what we were fighting would we have signed up?” Lux looked around and the expressions on their faces were her answer. “She was right in that. Yet we are all still here. We are all still fighting. We just need to remember that. We also just need to get Jinx to realize that. For now though, I suggest we just give her some space and try again in a few days.” Everyone nodded but everyone but Poppy looked put out.

 

           “In the meantime, I suggest we prepare for the next fight. With just 4 of us again, we are going to need to be focused. I also think that Malzahar didn’t get everything he wanted out of this attack, so he will attack again soon.”

 

           “Lux, we’ll be ready.” Poppy said, in a much softer voice than she had been using previously. Lux took a look around. Janna nodded; Lulu smiled; Dorcha and Solas nodded as well; Zephyr sat up; Pix nodded as he hovered behind Lulu; and Shiro and Kuro snuggled up against Lux’s arm in a positive way. She reached down and scratched the two, smiling.

 

           Somewhere, somehow, Lux had a feeling everything would work out.

* * *

 

           On the moon, Malzahar was furious. Not only had Baron not destroyed the guardians, he fled from the battle. On top of that, Kog’Maw, Kha’Zix, and Rek’Sai had barely gotten any energy and their reserves were now dangerously low. Malzahar paced around and looked at the three of them.

 

           “You had two jobs. Distract the guardians and gather energy. Sure you accomplished the first, but the second, all three of you failed miserably. We need energy quickly and if not, then everything we have worked for will fall apart. Kog’Maw get going.” The three quickly ran out, with Kog’Maw in the lead.

 

           Looking out the window, Malazhar looked at Runeterra and his frustration grew. He had all of the tools he needed but he kept losing for some reason.

 

           “It isn’t entirely their fault you know.” Malzahar turned to see Cho’Gath in the shadows. “The guardians, for their inexperience, continue to plan well and adapt. We don’t. Perhaps that is something we need to start doing.”

 

           “Perhaps.” Malzahar looks out the window again and sinks into deep thought.


	31. Fractured and Divided

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Jinx’s departure, the Guardians were down to 4, but they all knew that Jinx just might need time to adjust as she really didn’t have much time. But neither did any of them. In order to execute their plan, they needed Jinx to come back and rejoin the team. Meanwhile Malzahar, desperate for energy to refill their depleted reserves, tasks Kog’Maw to get more, and fast.

           Lux remembered a few days ago when something told her that everything would be ok. That everything would work out. Well that feeling had mostly gone away. Granted Malzahar hadn’t attacked in recent days but that wasn’t any comfort. The whole team was trying to give Jinx some space, but frankly, their time was running out. They knew that Vel’Koz had narrowed down the locations for their rebuild, but they couldn’t do it shorthanded. He would be giving them more information after school.

 

           Before they all separated as they walked to school that morning, Lux asked Janna to try and talk to Jinx, if that was possible. Lux was hoping that Janna would have good news when they met up, but her gut told her that it wasn’t going to happen. Still, there was hope.

 

           Janna however, was finding it impossible. Janna tried to talk to Jinx before school and during morning break, and Jinx just ignored her. When lunch came around, Janna tried one more time mading an effort not to corner Jinx, but Jinx just brushed past Janna without talking to her. It wasn’t a rude push, but one that clearly said leave me alone. “Lux isn’t going to be happy” Janna said to herself as she saw Jinx walking away, head low, and her usual pigtails looped into a bun in the back of her head.

 

           When Janna got to the tower she hesitated before opening the door, knowing what she would find on the other side; A disappointed Lux, a determined Poppy, and a very sad Lulu. Taking one last breath, Janna opened the door and found exactly what she expected, except Vel’Koz was also present.

 

           “No luck?” He asked as Janna just hung her head.

 

           “She won’t talk to me. She just brushes past me any time I try but at least she doesn’t knock me out of the way. I’m not going to try again for a bit.” Janna sat down at the table, and Lux just nodded. Clearly she wasn’t happy, but she also knew they had little choice. Either Jinx would come around, or they would have to get the point across. Lux was hoping for the former but if she needed to get the point across, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to.

 

           “Maybe something will get through to her, but for now, just give her space. She seemed to take it harder than everyone else.”

 

           “Yeah, because she’s a bit of a nut? She was unreliable, and I knew it.”

 

           “Poppy enough. That isn’t helping anything. We need to figure out how to get the point across about what we are doing. So unless you have something positive, then just knock it off for right now.” Poppy looked at Lux, and while Lux had clearly stepped on Poppy’s toes, she still nodded. Deep down, Poppy knew Lux was both right and their leader, and while that didn’t help their current situation, Poppy knew that her going on like she didn’t wouldn’t make it any better.

 

           “Well since everyone wants to get off this topic, I can propose something. I have the information for our barrier rebuild.” Everyone got up and moved to the bar, where Vel’Koz laid out a map. “I am putting it up along this river. Here’s the issue, with one energy nexus, we have to create a second to balance it. Now this is where the issues start rising up. The nexuses have to be opposites of each other.”

 

           “Oh I know where this is going.” Lux groaned as she looked at the map.

 

           “I can explain more later, but the energies will have to be opposed to each other in order for this to work. Right now, void energy will fill up the second nexus. I’m debating for the first because we used summoner magic the first time and well we see where that has gotten us. Malzahar will not let the energy that will be in that nexus to easily so there will be a fight, and they will commit everything they can to make sure they get it.”

 

           “It’s also a battle where we will need everyone.” Janna said matter of factly. A small squeak got their attention and from the shoot that Dorcha and Solas usually used, came Shiro and Kuro. They hopped onto the table and looked around. Everyone was surprised to see them.

 

           “You two do know Jinx’s position right?” Poppy asked. They both nodded and hopped over to Dorcha and Solas, parking themselves next to them. Poppy actually managed to smile. “Well at least there is some courage here.” Still, even though they looked happy, Lux could tell that Shiro and Kuro were hurting over Jinx’s decision.

 

           “Come on everyone, let’s get some training in. I think we could all hit something right now.” Lux smiled as she turned to Poppy who had already pulled her pendant.

 

           “Don’t need to tell me twice.” Poppy transformed and headed upstairs. The rest of the team followed as Lux was right, they all needed to vent some frustration.

* * *

 

           Meanwhile, Jinx arrived home only to find Shiro and Kuro not there. Jinx sighed a bit, knowing they made new friends and while they would no doubt come home at the end of the night, she couldn’t go to the tower.

 

           “None of us signed up for that.” Jinx said as she sat down at the kitchen table, only to find the Star Guardian contract there. Rolling her eyes, and knowing that Shiro and Kuro would pester her until she read it, Jinx opened it and started to read. 20 minutes later she stopped as she realized she had been reading the same page for 3 minutes. “Uh…how do people do this?”

 

           Jinx got up and fixed herself some dinner, but there was a ping of guilt in her stomach that wouldn’t go away. She knew that Lux and everyone else was still there, still fighting, and she just ran away. But then it was something she was good at. She ran away from her friends as a child, pushed people away as a pre-teen, and made herself deliberately unlikable as a teenager. Looking back, she knew that her childhood friends would probably still care about her, if they knew who she was or where she was. After all, she’d changed her name since then, or rather her parents had.

 

           They were rich and didn’t want her to be associated with average people. Probably another reason why Jinx found herself alone right now. Jinx checked her phone for a message, and found none. Figuring that Lux would probably try to call her at some point, she decided that if Lux wanted to talk, it would be on her terms and decided to let it go to voicemail. Getting up again, she went upstairs and actually did homework to get her mind off of everything.

* * *

 

           After two hours, Lux finally had to call it as everyone just seemed content to just batter the training dummies until they broke, and while that didn’t happen yet, it was probably going to with the way Poppy was going at it. As the team headed downstairs, Lux grabbed her bag, which she brought up and after finding her phone, called Jinx, who as predicted didn’t answer. Lux almost hung up but decided to leave a message.

 

           “Jinx, its Lux. Look I understand that you are frustrated, and probably a bit scared. I know because we all are. None of us knew what we were getting into and honestly if we did, we probably wouldn’t have signed up. But we did. I know there are times when I’ve regretted what I did, but I also remind myself of the thing that made me sign up in the first place. What if I don't and everyone I know dies because I did nothing when I could have? Could I live with myself? The answer to that was no. I couldn’t. I knew I could do something and that I had to. Otherwise who would?

 

           “I know this all sounds preachy but it’s the truth. I can’t stress how much we need you and honestly how much you bring to the team. Even in the short time, you started to grow, even you can’t deny that. If you want to talk, just call me or anyone. We’ll be here.” Lux put her phone back into her bag and followed everyone else downstairs. There, Vel’Koz was waiting.

 

           “Good. Now, I plan to start the energy nexuses in two days. Once they start forming, they will be vulnerable and subject to attack, but Malzahar knows that if he destroys one, then he can’t salvage anything from it. Also we can easily build another one.”

 

           “So if you can easily build these things, why haven’t you done this before now?” Poppy asked.

 

           “Finding a good location for one.” Vel’Koz seemed ready for the question. “Also they take time to form. We haven’t really had a need until that last attack and most of our sites were taken up by one thing or another.” Poppy just nodded. “Back to the point however, we need to make sure that we are prepared and hope that Jinx does come back. Have you tried reaching out?”

 

           “I tried talking to her at school, but she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to talk to any of us.” Janna said before turning to Lux.

 

           “I just tried to call her, but she didn’t answer. I left a message and I hope she will get back to us.”

 

           “Let’s hope because we will need her help. I’ll explain the details about everything once we get closer to the actual day. Does anyone have any questions for me?” Vel’Koz looked around and no one said anything. “Ok then. I’ll be leaving. If any of you need anything before you all leave, I’ll be in my office.” With that, Vel’Koz floated out and left the team alone.

 

           “Should we give her more time?” Lulu asked after a minute.

 

           “We can’t. We need her help now.” Poppy relied, very adamantly so.

 

           “Look what happened in her first three outings. I mean would you have reacted differently after a short experience with seeing Baron?” Janna turned to Poppy with a furious expression on her face. Poppy opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it and sat back.

 

           “Maybe not.” Poppy said after a minute or two of silence with everyone else looking at her.

 

           “Exactly. Let’s just give her the space she needs to think. If she thinks.” Janna looked around at everyone. “Anyway, I’m going to get going then. I have some work to do.” She grabbed her bag and headed out. Poppy soon followed. Lulu was getting up when she turned to see Lux still at the table. She walked back.

 

           “I’m sure everything will be fine. Just don’t let hope fade.” Lulu then skipped out the door and Lux smiled a bit.

 

           “Leave it to Lulu to say the most random thing and it somehow brightens up your day. Still though.” Lux grabbed her bag and headed up the passage that led to Vel’Koz’s office. She knocked when she got to the door.

 

           “Come in. Oh Lux, please sit down. What can I help you with?” Vel’Koz looked concerned as Lux took a seat across from him.

 

           “Can Baron be destroyed?” Lux indented to walk into the question but her mouth was ahead of her brain. Vel’Koz nodded as he saw what was bothering her.

 

           “He can, but not without a lot of effort. Baron has a thick skin, literally, and that makes it harder to destroy him. However, given enough time and effort, he can be destroyed. A full team of Guardians can do a lot of damage quickly but something tells me that is why Jinx quit.”

 

           “I mean seeing that on your third time out, what would you do?” Lux sank back into the chair and Vel’Koz nodded.

 

           “I guess. I mean her first time out Poppy fought whatever that was. But that wasn’t as bad. It is a valid point nonetheless. I would suggest that giving her the space she needs might help. But also I would suggest finding a way to get her to realize what is going on. It isn’t just about her, but everyone.”

 

           “I just tried that. I remember what made me go and I told Jinx that in a message. I hope she at least listens to it but who knows.” Lux somehow sank further back into the chair.

 

           “Lux. You will get through this. Maybe not right away, but it will work out.”

 

           “You know, Lulu said the same thing. Talk to her?” Lux sat up a bit.

 

           “No, but it will work out because it has to. Otherwise, we are all in big trouble. I’m going to keep a positive attitude about this.” Vel’Koz tried for a joke, but Lux just rolled her eyes in response, but still managed a slight laugh.

 

           “I guess that works. Now get going.” Lux stood up and left. Vel’Koz turned to look out the window and he knew that Jinx might not come back, but he still had to hope. After all, the only time the bad guys win, is when all of the good guys stop fighting.

* * *

 

           “I know this all sounds preachy but it’s the truth. I can’t stress how much we need you and honestly how much you bring to the team. Even in the short time, you started to grow, even you can’t deny that. If you want to talk, just call me or anyone. We’ll be here.” Jinx saved the message and looked out her window. She had listened to Lux’s message twice, but that still wasn’t enough to change her mind. There was no way she was going to go back into that fight. Still there was stuff to at least chew on.

 

           Jinx saw that Shiro and Kuro had returned and sighed. She knew that they made fast friends and while she resented the fact they were still hanging out with the Guardians, she wasn’t going to stop them.

* * *

 

           On the moon, Kog’Maw was running around trying to come up with a plan. Their energy reserves were dangerously low and they needed something quickly to restock their supplies. He knew a large scale attack was the only way to go, but they didn’t have the energy to do that. Instead he needed a lot of people in a relatively enclosed area to zap energy from quickly. He would also need to hold off the guardians until he was done.

 

           Looking around, he couldn’t find anyone who really fit what he needed. The attack was going to be bold, direct, and happen quickly. Knowing one thing that did that well, Kog’Maw sighed in defeat and headed towards Kha’Zix’s quarters. Arriving, Kog’Maw found Kha’Zix in the middle of a snack and he was suddenly reminded of how hungry he was.

 

           “Something I can do for you?” Kha’Zix sneered as Kog’Maw entered.

 

           “Feel like fighting one more time? You don’t even have to fight really, just distract and keep the guardians occupied.” Kog’Maw looked at Kha’Zix with intensity and the giant bug fell into thought. Eventually though, Kha’Zix nodded.

 

           “Fine then, what is your plan?” Kha’Zix got up and hovered over to Kog’Maw, who took a step back so he could see into Kha’Zix’s face.

 

           “Attack the large structure with the flat land around it.”

 

           “Otherwise called a mall. Sound plan. Lots of fast energy, I suggest you wait for tomorrow. The weekend will see more people. Learn the planet Kog’Maw and you will go far. Notify me when you are ready.” Kha’Zix hovered back to the stool he had been sitting on and Kog’Maw ran back to his quarters. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.

* * *

 

           With the weekend finally here, Lux considered going to Jinx’s house directly, but thought better of it. Carefully getting out of bed, as to not disturb Dorcha and Solas, who were enjoying their sleep, she went across the hall and knocked on Garen’s door.

 

           “Come in. Hey what’s up?” Garen looked at his sister, who rarely entered his room, let alone approached him for anything. Noticing Lux’s nervousness, Garen pushed a chair across to her and Lux sat down.

 

           “Garen I need some advice. I’ve had a falling out with a friend and she’s a bit mad at me.”

 

           “Well I won’t pretend to know your friends, but was it something you did or said or something they did?”

 

           “More like something they didn’t read and it some unsaid things.” Lux again picked her words carefully. Garen looked at her with an extremely curious look on his face. He could tell Lux wasn’t telling him everything, was picking her words carefully, and if he knew his sister, there was probably a good reason.

 

           “Well first, I can tell you aren’t telling me everything. Sorry Lux, but you are rather transparent when you do that.” Garen kept his voice police and Lux just blushed. “However, what I can say is that just give them space. It sounds like it’s both of your faults so both of you are to blame. If she is a true friend, then she’ll come around after things settle down a bit. As to your unsaid things, I would suggest that if you do get back together, then you get everything out into the open. That’s about all I got.” Lux nodded and made to get up, but Garen put a hand on her shoulder.

 

           “And Lux, remember if there is something you really need to talk about, then I’m here. I won’t tell mom and dad.” Garen put a good look on his face, hoping Lux would tell him what’s been bothering her these past few months, but Lux just sighed.

 

           “It’s a personal matter Garen, but if I ever do need to have that conversation, I’ll come find you.” Garen took his hand off and Lux got up and left. Garen just shook his head. He knew something was wrong, but then nothing had been the same since that first void attack and Lux getting caught up in more than a few since then. Garen also knew that her official story of not sleeping well was probably part true, but there was more. He just couldn’t put the puzzle together as there were too many missing pieces.

 

           Lux went back into her room, grabbed her bag, and headed for the library. She had known for a while that Garen was very suspicious of her, and that if she really did tell him, he probably would keep it a secret, but right now, it was just too dangerous. Telling him could put him at increased risk for who knows what, and she could bear putting anyone else in the line of fire who didn’t know what they were getting into. And Garen knew little of what he was getting into.

 

           When Lux arrived at the tower, she had a slight hope that Jinx would be there at least blowing stuff up, but there was silence. Lux sighed and headed upstairs pulling her locket as she went. “Star Guardian Power Up!” Lux transformed and after setting her bag down, she started her own training. She started a sequence with the dummies that made her use her binding and singularity to dodge and move around.

 

           She kept up the training for over an hour before she finally gave up and headed back downstairs, not even bothering to power down. Lux put her baton on the table and looked around, finally it hit her. They were down to four and there was little that they could about it. While they could force Jinx to work with the team doing so would probably do more harm than good at this point. Lux was so deep in thought she didn’t even notice Poppy had walked in and sat down. Eventually Poppy, tired of seeing Lux like she was, Poppy eventually poked Lux with her own baton. Lux jumped and turned to Poppy.

 

           “Sorry.” Lux said as she turned to look at her boots again.

 

           “Hey, just forget it. She’ll either come back or she won’t. Until then, we’ll manage, and if she doesn’t come back, then we’ll manage.” Poppy tried to reassure Lux, but it did the opposite.

 

           “The problem is that we need all five of us in order to be at our full potential. Whether or not you like her, we need to have her in order to have any real hope of defeating the void.” Lux couldn’t keep the anger out of her voice as she stood up and started pacing around. Poppy was taken aback but was quickly reminded of this and she put her head down. What also took Poppy back is that Lux never powered down and her saying that transformed only added weight to what she was saying.

 

           “I guess I forgot about that.” Poppy admitted after there had been silence in the room for a few minutes, apart from Lux’s footsteps. “Still, we could always force…” a look from Lux sent Poppy back to being silent.

 

           “We aren’t going to force her to do anything. If we do, then the only thing we do is create more problems. Right now, we can’t afford more problems. Maybe we can get lucky with this next attack and it won’t be as bad. If it even comes.” Lux finally sat down on one of the chairs at the bar while keeping an eye on Poppy.

 

           “It will come and you know it. Their energy reserves have to be severely depleted after that. It’s only a matter of time until they attack again.” Poppy had no more said the words then did a wave of cold wash over them. “I hate being right.” Lux just threw Poppy a look as they pulled up the temperature map. “Why the mall?”

 

           “Lots of people. Enclosed space. Easy to get a lot of energy quickly.” Lux said and looked at Poppy. She returned the look with a look of confusion before smacking her head into the table. She reached and pulled her pendant.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Poppy transformed and Lux pulled her phone. Jinx didn’t remove herself from their group message.

 

           ‘they are hitting the mall. Everyone power up!” Lux sent the text then left her phone on the table as she and Poppy charged towards the mall.

 

           Lulu, who had been taking a nice walk in the woods, transformed and quickly sprinted towards the mall. Pix trying to keep up with Lulu’s pace. Janna had been sitting in the park and had felt the cold. She found a secluded area and she also sprinted towards the mall. Upon arriving, the scene was chaos. Janna, being the closest, got there first, and noticed Kog’Maw and Kha’Zix.

 

           “You know, I’ve always hated bugs!” She yelled and sent a twister towards the two. She shattered a couple of orbs in the process, but she also missed Kha’Zix who jumped out of the way. Kog’Maw wasn’t so lucky, but he was still able to recover quickly. Kog’Maw kept going around draining energy and throwing orbs through an open portal while Kha’Zix took position between Janna and Kog’Maw.

 

           “Well, that is no way to be polite. How about I show you some manners!” Kha’Zix jumped towards Janna, who dodged and shielded the attack. “Seems you still need a few lessons.” Kha’Zix jumped again and almost hit Janna with his claws before he found himself flying through the air and into a nearby storefront, shattering the glass.

 

           “You know, it is very impolite to hit a lady.” Came a voice.

 

           “My hero!” Janna said, trying desperately to keep her laughter in check, but she failed and clutched her staff for support as Debonair stood, posed in what could only be described as a classic movie pose. Even he started chuckling after a minute. Not wanting to be outdone, Kha’Zix attacked again, only to hit a shield on both Janna and Debonair and was knocked back. Lux had thrown her baton and quickly threw out a binding as Kha’Zix tried to leap at them. Forced to dodge out of the way quickly, Kha’Zix landed awkwardly, only then to be morphed by Lulu, who had just arrived, into a small frog.

 

           When he transformed back to himself, Kha’Zix again launched an attack, only to be knocked back by Poppy and Debonair, and smashing through another storefront. “Can we try and limit the collateral damage please?” Lux said as the team raced to make sure Kha’Zix stayed down, but he was up before they could get there.

 

           Lux then looked over and saw Kog’Maw throwing more orbs through the portal. Lux nodded to Poppy and they took off towards Kog’Maw, while leaving Janna, Lulu, and Debonair to deal with Kha’Zix, who tried to stop the two from leaving, only to get Poppy’s hammer in his side again. At least this time he hit a wall, but still left a sizable imprint.

 

           Janna quickly sent a twister towards Kha’Zix, who barely managed to dodge it and sent spikes Janna’s way as a reply. Janna threw up her shield and absorbed the damage, but was left jumping to dodge Kha’Zix’s next leap. Debonair quickly swung his weapon to knock Kha’Zix off his footing, but missed. Kha’Zix turned to where Janna had just been but before he could move again, Lulu acted first by sending a glitterlance his way, forcing him to jump again. Turning to Lulu, Kha’Zix charged for her, only to be turned to a small animal as Lulu ran behind Debonair and alongside Janna.

 

           Now very angry, Kha’Zix was about to throw more attacks, but paused for a brief second, which gave him just enough time to react to Debonair’s pulse attacks and make a leap. This time, he managed to dodge both Janna and Lulu’s attacks, landing a slice with one of his blades on Janna. Lulu quickly shielded Janna from any further damage as Janna collapsed to the floor, holding her side and nursing her leg. Kha’Zix’s attack hadn’t gone deep, but it did leave a long streak along her side. Pressing his advantage, Kha’Zix leaped again, only to connect with Lulu instead, who threw herself in front of Janna, taking a hit in the arm. Debonair then sent Kha’Zix flying with a swipe of his hammer.

 

           Kha’Zix didn’t shake of the landing easily and now it was between him and Debonair. Janna was still nursing the long cut while Lulu was doing the same with her arm. Debonair stood between them and readied himself. After a few seconds, Kha’Zix charged, threw spikes at Debonair, who got a shield from Pix, and belted Kha’Zix with pulses from his weapon in the air, knocking him off his jump. Growling, Kha’Zix then went at Debonair, and after dodging his hammer, managed to get in a swipe on his leg, but it merely glanced off his armor.

 

           “You know, I didn’t build this for nothing.” Debonair taunted as he then charged his weapon, threw out his gate, then sent a pulse through it. It hit Kha’Zix full in the face, leaving the voidborne in bad shape. Still not wanting to be outdone, Kha’Zix leaped again, and while he managed to avoid Debonair’s attack, he still found himself flying into a wall. Janna had managed to recover enough to channel her monsoon and the force of it knocked Kha’Zix back, and healed herself and Lulu enough for them to continue fighting.

 

           Kha’Zix, now looking towards Kog’Maw, saw him jump through a portal and decided now was the time to flee. “Until next time guardians.” Before Janna, Lulu, or Debonair could move, he ripped open a portal and dived through it. Turning, the three started walking to meet Lux and Poppy in the middle of the mall.

* * *

 

           Determined to prevent as much energy from getting through as possible, Lux quickly threw out a singularity and tried to shatter orbs, but Kog’Maw quickly got most of them out of the way. He then played a game, where he would attack Lux and Poppy, while throwing a few orbs through the open portal. Poppy kept trying to get at Kog’Maw to give Lux a shot, but he kept dodging while sacrificing a few barely filled orbs in the process, keeping the full ones protected.

 

           Lux, desperate to pull out a win, eventually nodded to Poppy and they both set off in an attack together. Kog’Maw seemed to anticipate this, but not what they did. Lux got up close and personal, knocking Kog’Maw with a few bolts from her baton and throwing a binding when she slid past him, and Poppy sent her buckler towards a few of the orbs, which hit one, and then shattering a few with her hammer.

 

           They then switched as Lux threw a singularity while Poppy took a well-aimed hammer shot at a bound Kog’Maw and sent him flying. Kog’Maw landed near the portal he was throwing orbs through and after recovering, he threw a few more through before Poppy charged again, shattering more. Lux threw a barrier around Poppy as Kog’Maw opened up on her with his acid, and Lux threw another binding, but Kog’Maw managed to dodge out of the way.

 

           Growing desperate, Kog’Maw opened up on Lux, who managed to dodge some, but had to shield the rest while Kog’Maw kept up the fire while Poppy circled around. Eventually charging, she managed to knock Kog’Maw off his feet, but had to quickly dodge out of the way as he sent a few acid bombs her way. Lux, who had managed to take some acid when her barrier collapsed, still got up and threw another singularity at the orbs, shattering more, and throwing a binding, correctly guessing the way Kog’Maw would run.

 

           Seeing most of his work either now through the portal or destroyed, Kog’Maw once again started to attack, only to have to avoid another charge from Poppy, but still getting hit with her buckler as she missed. Dodging yet another singularity from Lux, Kog’Maw tore off towards the portal and jumped through it, leaving behind 5 orbs, with almost nothing in them. Sighing, Lux and Poppy quickly broke them and turned to see Kha’Zix had disappeared as well.

 

           As the team regrouped in the center of the mall, Debonair looked around and saw something missing. “I don’t mean to probably pick at a sensitive topic right now, but where is your fifth?” The team turned to Lux, who nodded.

 

           “It’s a long story. Meet us up on the roof if you want to hear it. I’m going to tell the police and medics that it’s clear to come in.” Lux turned to look at Debonair who just nodded. The other four fled to the roof while Lux headed outside, to see police had cordoned off the building and Vi was waiting outside. Seeing Lux exit, she smiled.

 

           “Lower weapons, it’s over!” She yelled and walked towards the exhausted Guardian. “Tough fight?” She asked, but also noticed Lux was clearly bothered by something form the way she was walking and how she was carrying herself.

 

           “You could say that. They got away with a lot of energy.”

 

           “Something wrong?” Vi was now certain that Lux was hiding something. “You are clearly not talking about something.” Lux bit her lip and after a few seconds, nodded.

 

           “Yes but not here.” Vi nodded and figured that while the Guardian would probably blow her off, at least there was something she was willing to admit.

 

           “Just something for you to chew on until then, if you come. Leaders must never be afraid to ask for help, or to admit mistakes. I know it’s bitten me several times. You know where to find me.” Vi signaled to the EMS personal on scene, and they rushed in. She turned around to see the Guardian had vanished. Lux in fact, had jumped onto the roof and found the rest of them waiting for her.

 

           “So still want to hear it?” Lux asked Debonair, who merely put his weapon down and nodded. “Ok then here is goes. Our fifth teammate isn’t coming back, at least not any time soon. After that last fight with Baron Nashor, yes that is its name, she took off, and hasn’t been responding to us.”

 

           “I thought you said it was a long story?” Lux, realizing what she said, just shrugged. “I’m assuming you’ve tried to contact her in multiple ways?” Debonair asked, trying everything to keep his voice neutral.

 

           “Apart from physically forcing her, yes.” Poppy said looking at Debonair.

 

           “I hope that you can convince her to come around. Until then, I’ll do my best to help you all out, but if you want my suggestion, just give her space. Let her come around. She will. There will be something that clicks with her.” And with that, Debonair picked up his weapon, got up, and headed away from the scene. Lux nodded and even smiled a bit.

 

           “Yeah there’s always something. Just we need it sooner rather than later.” Lux said as she kept her voice low. “Come on, let’s get back and we need to have a vote on something.” The rest of the team looked at her and nodded.” They sprinted back to the tower.

* * *

 

           Unknown to the rest of the team, Jinx did in fact see what they did. She was hiding in one of the store fronts facing the center of the mall. When the attack started, she reached for her pendant, only to remember that she threw it aside and she just sat back and watched. Shiro and Kuro, who had joined her, poking Jinx every now and then to make sure she was paying attention. Jinx, annoyed with the two, eventually put them into her backpack, but they still were jumping inside it.

 

           Jinx however, couldn’t take her eyes off Lux and the rest of the team. She knew how dangerous it was, and even winced as she saw Janna get slashed, then Lulu. Jinx wanted to jump in, but without her pendant, it was impossible to be anything but a bad idea. Keeping low, she did manage to keep a good enough look over the fight, but once it was over, she saw the team disappear to the roof, and with all of the chaos after the attack she managed to make it up there and she hid behind one of the numerous buildings on the roof.

 

           “Let her come around. She will. There will be something that clicks with her.” She heard Debonair finish his advice before she heard him leave. Peeking out from behind the building, she saw Lux’s lips move but couldn’t make out the words before the team followed Lux off the roof.

 

           Sitting back down, Jinx tried to rationalize it in her head. They were fighting against impossible odds, with constant risk of death, and for what? What did they see that she didn’t? What were their motivations? Where did it click for them? Jinx kept turning over the thoughts in her mind before she noticed a police officer coming towards her. Jinx kept her head down as she came close.

 

           “Hey are you ok?” Jinx picked her head up to see the officer.

 

           “Is it over?” Jinx kept her voice scared, which she was.

 

           “Yes. Are you hurt?” Jinx just shook her head. “Just ran when things started going off?” Jinx just nodded in reply. “Well come on, let’s get you back down.” The officer helped Jinx to her feet and she followed the officer down where Jinx just disappeared into the crowd and made her way home. When she got home, she finally let Shiro and Kuro out and they both just glared at her. Clearly they were angry with her as well, and quickly hopped down and headed out. Now alone, Jinx just sat down in a chair and actually started to think.

* * *

 

           At the tower, Dorcha and Solas were looking over the team as Lux finished talking.

 

           “Well, telling Caitlyn and Vi is a huge risk.” Dorcha said as she looked between everyone there; the remaining four Guardians, Vel’Koz, and Nasus. “But they might be able to offer advice.”

 

           “Except the advice I keep getting is all the same lately.” Lux said, letting her frustration creep into her voice.

 

           “Then perhaps it is good advice.” Solas said, looking carefully at Lux, who had her head in her hands. “Sometimes the best advice isn’t always the easiest to hear. We could always go with the forceful option.” He reminded Lux of that fact, which finally got Lux to look up.

 

           “We do that, we just destroy any chance she will find her motivation. We’ll use it, but only as an absolute last resort.” Everyone nodded. Poppy clearly didn’t like the plan, but she also had no choice but to go along with it. Lux then turned to Vel’Koz. “What about the nexuses?”

 

           “Yes, we can head out the site. I would like a little protection while I establish them. I doubt Malzahar will attack again so quickly. He also knows that there is more in it for him if he waits. So we can go when you all are ready.” Vel’Koz left that open in case they needed some time to recover from the attack, but one look from everyone told him they were ready. “Ok then, let’s go.”

 

           They all left the room and got into the long car, which had a trailer behind it. Lux and the rest of the team knew what was inside just from the cold it was radiating. The site was far outside the city and it took some time to get there. The ride itself was rather quiet as the team, still transformed, were checking their phones and reassuring their parents they were studying at the library. The scenery changed outside from plains to forest and after what seemed like forever, Nasus turned off and pulled into what was clearly a long forgotten park.

 

           The team got out and followed Vel’Koz to the trailer which did contain 3 void orbs of energy. Despite it being warm where they were, the area was made cold by the presence of the orbs. The team helped carry them deep into the forest, which seemed to last forever, but eventually the trees ended and Vel’Koz stopped the team as they emerged.

 

           They were in a long path cut from the trees, a gap in front of them went into what looked like more forest with paths, and they were standing between two stone piles. Looking to their right, they saw another pile beyond the first, up a flight of stone stairs. Vel’Koz waved them on and they followed him up the stairs, still carrying the orbs. When they got up, they saw more stone piles and ahead of them, a large stone staircase leading up to what looked like old ruins. There was a large hole behind two of the stone piles and Vel’Koz hovered over to it.

 

           “Place the orbs in here, and we can begin.” The team placed the orbs and stepped back. Vel’Koz closed his eye, concentrated, then unleased his void beam onto the orbs, shattering them, but the energy didn’t dissipate. After a second, a large red crystal formed around it. They were all amazed, until Lux noticed other things happening. The large red crystal was quickly surrounded by a stone structure where it hovered in the middle. The structure was smooth with what looked like 4 locks that looked like the hilt of a sword. Then the two piles of stone formed themselves into statues, which looked spears with crystal tips.

 

           The team turned to see more of these statues forming, 9 in all, three inside the stone ruins, and 6 in the paths carved in the forest. Then three smaller crystals formed behind the third of these statues in-between the final two and the other 9. They were red, just like the main crystal.

 

           “It is done. Come on.” Vel’Koz jolted the team out of their stupor and they followed him down the center path. They could see somewhat into the forest on either side of them it was when they reached the center that they saw a change. The same piles of rubble and a similar stone ruin. They looked to either side and saw bushes that prevented them from seeing clearly on either side and after Janna and Lux looked through them, they saw the river continued until it hit the upper and lower paths. There were also two cutouts on either side of the river, one on each side of the central path.

 

           Vel’Koz gave them a few minutes before heading forward. As they passed piles of rubble, Vel’Koz entered the second ruin, and while there Vel’Koz approached a similar hole in the ground. Turning to Lux, he pointed to the hole. “Please cast your spark down there and you will see what happens. Lux nodded and after a few seconds, jumped into the air.

 

           “Final Spark!” Lux landed back on the ground and after a few seconds, another crystal started to form, this time blue. The structure around it was also different. It was more rugged, but somehow looking strong. Instead of smooth curves and sword style of the red side, this side more resembled the top of a hammer. The statues that formed from the piles on this side however looked more like knights and looked more protective. They had large stone hammers, with the striking edge, being a blue crystal.

 

           “Ok now that we are here, I can explain. I had to search the planet for a location where magic ran strong, but hadn’t been corrupted and it led me here. Now that you are standing here, I’m sure none of you have an idea where we are.” It wasn’t a question as the team looked confused.

 

           “Well then, I’ll explain. Magic runs through Runeterra and forms the very blood of the planet. Magic has always been strong in certain areas and weaker in others. In this case, magic has always been strong here, but there has been no need of this place in a long time. It was here that ancient summoners, or mages as they were known back then, battled over the power this place held. Over time, the land remade around these battles and the forest doesn’t regrow in some of these places.

 

           “At one point, the battles over this place threatened to tear the planet apart so a final battle was held, which would determine who would control this area. The mages picked their five best champions and fought each other in this area for an hour and a half. Eventually one side emerged victorious as they destroyed the enemy nexus. The battle became renown across the world and others flocked to the site. Eventually this place was being used regularly for sport and entertainment.

 

           “What sealed the fate of this site was when two nations used the magic here, along with their most powerful mages, and warriors, to settle a dispute. The nations respected the outcome, and after a few more uses, the world used this as a determination place for nations in dispute. When the first void war happened, this place was abandoned as nations across Runeterra banded together to heal the world. Places like this were abandoned because it was feared that using them again could tear apart the world, as it was so fragile at the time.

 

           “We will use the energies concentrated here to assist us in protecting this world once again. Because of how we plan to use this place, there is little danger to the world. Should you be victorious, the energies that will be concentrated in this nexus, will spread out and reform the barrier shield around the planet.”

 

           “Um ok this may sound stupid but how…” Poppy started but Vel’Koz just held up a tentacle.

 

           “Behind the nexus that rise is called an altar. Behind that is a platform where a group of summoners tomorrow will cast spells to reform the barrier system. However, in order to do this, two things need to happen. First, the current system needs to be destroyed. This will leave us extremely vulnerable so this is the reason we are doing this. We need to tempt Malzahar with a massive energy pool. He can’t resist fighting over it.

 

           “The second reason we are doing this is because it needs a lot of energy. The energy, once ready, that is contained in these nexuses is almost overpowering. Lux’s spark starts a cycle that once the other nexus is destroyed, this one releases its energy. If channeled correctly, that energy can do incredible things. In the past, it was captured and reused for next battle. Back then however, they used positive and negative energy. In a few days, we will use light and dark. Or good and evil, whatever you prefer.”

 

           “Light and dark make more sense.” Lux pointed out and the team agreed.

 

           “I guess that would make more sense. The energy however always has to be opposite. I’m told the positive and negative energy related to emotions in the past. But back the point. Tomorrow the summoners will plant the channel to allow the energy, when the opposing void nexus is destroyed, to be channeled into the new barrier system. The energy contained in this nexus will then be used to reinforce that system. This time, it will take Malzahar considerable effort to bring it down. I’m sure you have more questions, but until Jinx returns, there isn’t really a good reason to answer them twice.” The team nodded in agreement and Lux’s face fell again.

 

           “Do you think Malzahar will attack this site before these are ready?” Janna clearly wanted to change the subject as she looked over at Lux.

 

           “He might, but there’s more in it for him if he lets the Nexuses mature. Attacking and destroying them now costs him not only the energy, as it will just dissipate even if he has collectors. So it’s either wait and potentially get a massive amount of energy, or attack, spend energy, and all we do is start anew. He won’t attack. It makes no sense, in any dimension.” Vel’Koz sounded very convinced of what he said and that confidence spread to the team, who all nodded again. Even Lux seemed to be a bit happier.

 

           As the team left the field, they all knew one thing, all of the pieces were beginning to fall into place and if they had any chance of succeeding in their objective, they needed Jinx back. Privately, Lux knew that Jinx had to experience something that made this fight personal for her, or see something that makes it personal, and until that happened, she wouldn’t be coming back. As they walked back through the forest, Vel’Koz sealed what looked like a magical barrier behind them, and followed them to the car.

 

           Once they were all back inside, Lux pulled out her phone and called Jinx again, but as before, she didn’t answer. Lux considered leaving a message, but decided against it. She just sent Jinx a text saying that if she needed to talk, just call or text. As they drove back to the museum, Lux just looked out the window. This wasn’t lost on anyone else, but no one said anything because anything that was to be said, had already been said.

 

           “Lux? Do you want us to drop you off at the police station or…” Vel’Koz just let the question hang but Lux shook her head.

 

           “I’ll go later tonight. Thanks though.” Lux kept her voice up, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. When they got back to the museum, everyone got out and Lux just nodded to everyone else, who left. Lux sat down in the tower for a bit before she gathered herself, grabbed a robe, and headed out to the dock. Nasus was still waiting there.

 

           “Want a ride?” Lux just smiled and Nasus nodded. The drive to the station was quiet as Nasus navigated the evening traffic, which was really nothing. “I’ll wait for you. Take your time.” Lux nodded to him as she got out and headed up the drive and into the station. Lux predicted that Vi would be waiting for her and she was right. Vi was indeed in the lobby and immediately waved Lux over and into the back areas. Lux followed Vi and as she also expected, they wound up in Caitlyn’s office, and she was waiting. Vi leaned up against the far wall, while Lux took a seat across from Caitlyn.

 

           “So I understand you are having some issues.” Caitlyn was never one to waste time and Lux just nodded as she pulled her hood down. “It wasn’t hard to tell that based on the fact you had five the other day and now you have four.”

 

           “Yeah, after that fight with Baron, she just quit saying that isn’t what she signed up for.”

 

           “Wait, did any of you know what you were sighing up for?” Vi asked.

 

           “No. None of us did, but the rest of us are still here.” Lux did everything possible to conceal her frustration but Caitlyn surely picked up on it.

 

           “So what have you done to try and get her back?” VI asked, but Caitlyn just shot her a look.

 

           “We’re giving her space for now. We can force her to fight, but that probably won’t help anything.” Lux said as she leaned back in her chair.

 

           “That is probably a good idea. Though judging by the fact you are here, you’ve heard it already and were looking for another piece of advice.” Lux just nodded and Caitlyn smiled. “Let me tell you something about being a leader. You can’t just expect things to happen. You have to adapt as you go, and find that one thing that makes everyone want to follow you. Clearly you have found it for everyone, but someone just lost their way. Find where she lost her way, and then lead her back.

 

           “I know it sounds cliché, but it’s true. There will be something that breaks everyone. There will be something that will make anyone and everyone question what they are doing. The point of a leader is to make sure they don’t break and if they question something, then provide an answer. Even if that answer is I don’t know. You are the rock that the team is built on. If you crumble, then they will crumble. If you give up, then they will give up.

 

           “Finally, there is one last piece of advice that I will give you. Never give up. You’d be surprised what will bring people around.” Caitlyn finally fell silent as she looked at Lux. She then nodded at Vi, who left the room.

 

           “There is also something I will tell you. If you ever need anything, you can talk to me, considering you probably don’t want to talk to your family about this.” Lux looked up to see Caitlyn smiled, and Lux, who initially grabbed her baton, let it fall to the ground.

 

           “How long have you known?” Lux asked.

 

           “About you, for a few months now. I had my suspicions since the first mall incident a long time ago. Since then  there were just too many coincidences. Don’t worry, I’m not telling anyone.” Lux stood up and nodded. “I know why you aren’t talking to your parents, and I will respect that. But if you need anything just let me know. Also I doubt anyone else will figure it out. Vi doesn’t know either. This will be between you and me.” Lux smiled and after she raied her hood up, she exited the room and Vi led her back outside.

 

           “Just to add to all of that. Remember that just because someone walked out, doesn’t mean they are gone for good. There is always something that brings people back, or at the very least makes them talk.” Vi headed back inside and Lux headed to the car. Nasus could tell that something happened, but didn’t want to pry, or at least not until Lux said something.

 

           “So Caitlyn knows.” Nasus just looked into the mirror.

 

           “Did you really think she wouldn’t figure it out?” Nasus asked as he smiled. Looking back at Lux, she was smiling too.

 

           “I guess, but the fact she isn’t telling my father is a relief.”

 

           “She’s smart, and that is why she’s a good leader. After all, Piltover still tries and get her back on a regular basis. If she said she’d keep your secret, then you can be sure she will. She is never one to betray trust.” Nasus tried to comfort Lux and it was clear he succeeded. Lux relaxed a bit.

 

           “I mean I know eventually my father will figure it out, but until then, this is at least better.” Lux said as Nasus brought the car into the dock. Nasus nodded to Lux, who passed him the robe and she powered down, grabbed her back, and headed home. Once she was back in her room, Lux looked up to the moon, knowing all of her problems, but also her answers, were there. Lux finally decided to just let the issue rest and sleep on it. Dorcha and Solas made themselves comfortable as Lux finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

           To say that Malzahar was not happy was an understatement. He expected Kog’Maw and Kha’Zix to get more energy form such a crowded place, but they had barely got away with enough to justify the action.

 

           “I am disappointed. This energy will barely be enough. We need a source, a big one, and soon. Now get out of my sight, and be thankful that I’m not taking charge myself.” Kog’Maw and Kha’Zix quickly sprinted form the throne room as Malzahar examined the orbs and knew that their energy reserve would not be replenished to the point where he would like it. It was then Malzahar felt a great draw. Looking around, he saw nothing, but then he turned to look out the window at Runeterra.

 

           “You. What have you done?” Malzahar looked closer and he could feel it. A Void nexus countered by a Star Guardian energy nexus. Malzahar, who was barely composed before, now flew off in anger. Vel’Koz was going to use the void energy to rebuild the barriers, which would result in making their work much harder. Malzahar, before he knew it, had smashed several orbs as he stomped around in a rage. He didn’t even notice Cho’Gath entering the room.

 

           Seeing what was happening, Cho’Gath acted quickly. He conjured his spikes, knocked Malzahar into the air, roared in his face, then knocked him out. Rek’Sai quickly entered the room and Cho’Gath nodded towards the orbs and Rek’Sai quickly started cataloging them. Cho’Gath then dragged Malzahar to his quarters and waited for him to wake up.

 

           While Malzahar was out, Rek’Sai entered. “He did damage. We were barely positive before, but now, we are just a shade over even. Unless we find a better way to convert energy, we will be out in a few weeks. That would be bad. We need energy and bad.”

 

           “There is nothing that can be done without a massive attack. The guardians seem to be able to predict our movements, but given our desperation, it isn’t hard. We need to get a massive attack and soon. Start a plan and maybe we will get something soon. That energy nexus will be an issue.” Cho’Gath kept his voice calm in the face of desperation and Rek’Sai seemed to relax.

 

           “Why not just attack it now?” Rek’Sai asked as she turned to leave.

 

           “Because, it won’t work. The energy will dissipate even if we have collectors there. We attack it before it’s ready, then we get nothing except postpone the inevitable. We have to play their game now. They made the move, and we have to be ready when it is time.” Cho’Gath knew nexuses well, from the last conflict here where they had failed to stop the summoners from establishing the first barrier system. Rek’Sai nodded and left. Cho’Gath stayed and waited for Malzahar.

 

           A few hours later, Malzahar finally woke up and saw Cho’Gath standing there. “How bad?”

 

           “You made a barely positive gain almost even. We need a large energy input and quickly. We can’t wait for the nexus.”

 

           “I agree. We will also have to beat those guardians.” Malzahar’s rage and frustration radiated from him as he formulated a plan. “Our first problem however is that we will need to come up with some energy, and quickly. Attacking the nexus is out of the question. They will only set up another somewhere else and we’ll play right into their game. No this time, they made the first step, but that allows us to trip them up. Prepare for a large scale attack. We will empty the Zz reserves, bring minions, and cause as much chaos as possible, in as many places as possible.”

 

           “Malzahar I advise caution. We can’t afford something like you are thinking.” Cho’Gath’s voice echoed his nervousness at yet another one of Malzahar’s plans.

 

           “On the contrary. I plan 6 simultaneous attacks. That way, the guardians and their helper, will have to go individually to combat it all. If we are lucky, they will be weaker and maybe we can take one or more out before they have a chance to enact their plan.” Malzahar looked out the windows of his quarters while Cho’Gath looked annoyed, but his face switched to approval as he thought about the plan.

 

           “The attacks Malzahar must be quick, precise, and at the first sign of trouble, they have to retreat and our resources will have to be refocused. Should we be pushed to the limit, I would suggest summoning baron back early from his healing.” Cho’Gath said as he continued to turn the plan over in his mind.

 

           “I agree. I will be out in the field, and you will direct everything.” Malzahar turned around and looked at Cho’Gath, who smiled.

 

           “As you wish, Great Prophet.” Cho’Gath bowed out, or at least as much as he could. Malzahar smiled as Cho’Gath left because whenever he used “Great Prophet”, he agreed with the plan.

 

           “This time, we will hit those guardians and they won’t recover.” Malzahar laughed as he turned to look again out his windows at Runeterra.


	32. The Spark of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the seeds of their largest objective yet finally planted, it becomes even more critical that the Guardians convince Jinx to return. However, that may prove difficult as Jinx is doing just about everything possible to avoid anyone talking to her. Meanwhile, Malzahar prepares for an attack that will bank the necessary energy for the fight over the nexus of void energy. Will the Guardians convince Jinx to come back?

           Janna looked across the hallway and the blue hair was something that always caught her eye. Jinx was still refusing to talk to her, or anyone else. Given that she had no friends, Janna could see she was depressed with no one to talk to, but that still wasn’t enough. A small white ball of fur on her shoulder caught Janna’s eye and she smiled as she could see Shiro trying to turn Jinx’s head. Jinx was of course refusing but it was apparently difficult as someone moved and Janna caught Kuro trying to do the same thing. Janna kept her face straight just in case Jinx looked over, which she did after she finally gave up resisting the two.

 

           Janna gave her a smile, but Jinx did nothing. Turning away, Janna saw that her pigtails were still looped up into a bun on her head. Janna sighed and decided to try something after school, but deciding not to tell Lux about it.

 

           Lux, Poppy, and Lulu were a little too busy to worry about it at the moment. Ms. Teller was working them all hard as End of the Year Tests approached. For the three, advancing into the next grade meant moving schools, which would put them all in the same school. All three were studying, or really Lux and Poppy were studying, while Lulu seemed to be off doing her own thing. Still they were all doing well enough so they had nothing to worry about. Well at least school wise.

 

           As Ms. Teller called a break, Lux looked out the window to see Dorcha in a tree. Clearly she and Solas had switched places as they were helping Janna keep an eye on Jinx. Dorcha still looked sad and Lux knew what that meant, Jinx had once again refused to talk to Janna. Lux looked down at her shoes and looked back at Dorcha. She was looking back expectantly, and Lux just nodded. Dorcha nodded back and hopped off. Lux gave her permission for Janna to take whatever measures she felt were necessary short of forcing her. Whether or not it was a good decision, only time would tell.

 

           Lux was still looking out the window when Amy poked her in the shoulder, making her jump. Amy pointed towards the clock and Lux had been starring out the window for almost a half hour and missed the lunch bell. “Come on Lux. Seems like you need a distraction.” Lux just nodded and followed Amy outside. They sat under one of the many trees nearby and ate while their classmates did mostly the same. Many were just looking exhausted as the practice tests and assignments piled on them.

 

           “Come on Lux, what’s the problem?” Amy, somehow, someway, still seemed to be her usual self. Happy and optimistic.

 

           “Just tired. It’s been a few busy days.” Lux again was telling the truth, just not all of it.

 

           “I know hasn’t it? I hope all of this preparation is worth it. How much longer can they possibly drill us on all of this stuff?” Amy sounded stressed but Lux knew that she could top anything that she said but saying would destroy the secrecy that they try and work.

 

           “Who knows. I mean sooner or later they have to give it up. They can’t keep us running like this forever. They know we will burn out eventually. You can see it in the class. Everyone is getting stressed out. Well we do have that 4-day weekend coming up. I guess that’s our relief. Hopefully nothing will go crazy in the meantime.” Lux let that last one slip and quickly looked at Amy, who had a worried expression on her face.

 

           “Good point. Remind me to stay away from you. You always seem to attract these things lately.” Amy kept her face neutral but after Lux’s face cracked, they both had a laugh. Lux needed one and Amy always somehow found a way to make her laugh, something that she really needed in the current climate. Many people were still on edge with the recent attacks, but none more so than the four remaining Guardians. Lux did at least notice Jinx didn’t do anything to hurt them, but she also wasn’t helping.

 

           “Come on. Let’s get back to class.” Lux looked at her watch and Amy followed her back inside. Lux did see Solas in a nearby tree, who nodded at Lux as she reentered school. Lux knew that action was in place, and she knew that her actions would be judged by time.

* * *

 

           As the school day came to an end, Janna took a deep breath as she moved through the hallways and towards Jinx’s locker. She was busy putting things into her bag as Janna approached. Knowing that this would either backfire or bring Jinx back, Janna waited until Jinx closed her locker in order to speak. Jinx tried to walk away but before Janna could even more, Shiro and Kuro hopped off Jinx’s backpack and stood in her way.

 

           “Fine.” Jinx said as she turned to Janna. “I know what you want by my…”

 

           “Just listen. I don’t care what you say but listen.” Jinx just put a look on her face that clearly said annoyed but at least didn’t walk away. “We need you to come back. For reference, none of us knew what we were signing up for. Me especially. You think Lux, who was the first one to start doing this, knew what she was in for?” Janna paused for a moment to let that sink in.

 

           “All she had heard was stories and old tales. She had zero idea what she was doing and yet she is still here. All of us are still here. Just think about that. That’s all we want. You know where to find us.” Janna turned and stared to walk away. She knew that the odds Jinx would return based on that conversation was slim, but as she rounded the corner, Janna did get a look where Jinx was leaning up against the lockers and Shiro and Kuro looking at her. Janna decided to head to the tower to at least tell the others.

* * *

 

           Jinx indeed was leaning up against the lockers, and exactly for the reasons that Janna was thinking. While she was mad at Shiro and Kuro for stopping her, what Janna said did indeed hit home. She actually had to think about Lux, and everything she’s been through. It was amazing that she was still there, after everything she has seen, she was still fighting. Maybe she was right, and that there was more than just them, but either way, she wasn’t going back today.

 

           “Ok I get it. I’ll think about it. You two sometimes.” Jinx looked at her two poros and realized that turning into a minigun and a rocket launcher was probably pretty cool. But there was something still nagging at her. What was the point? Why keep fighting? She wasn’t looking to make anything from it, but there was no reason she saw to keep fighting.

 

           Jinx scooped up Shiro and Kuro and decided that she couldn’t think here, so she decided to go home, and really think about everything.

* * *

 

           Janna arrived at the tower and while it was clear that Jinx wasn’t going to be coming, Janna didn’t seem put out.

 

           “So what happened?” Poppy asked. Her voice showing her skepticism.

 

           “Well I talked to her at her locker. She started to walk away before Shiro and Kuro jumped in front of her. Jinx listened and as I was walking away, she didn’t want to talk, I saw her leaning up against the lockers. Maybe something I said got through, but she clearly still needs to think about it for a bit. Maybe she’ll come around, and hopefully soon.” Janna put some optimism into her voice, trying to convince herself at the same time. As she sat down, Janna took a look at Lux, who was deeply in thought. Poppy however was the first to speak.

 

           “I don’t even know why we bother. We should figure out how to transfer the powers so we don’t have to bother with her anymore. She is unreliable. I said it from the beginning and I was proven right. The fact she isn’t sitting here is an example of that.” Poppy sounded confident and looked around. Lux and Janna just shot her looks but were at a loss for words. Lulu however, wasn’t.

 

           “Unreliable or not, she’s still a member of our team Poppy. Maybe it’s because of who she is.” Lulu spoke in a very unnaturally harsh tone. Everyone turned to her. Lulu, normally so soft spoken seemed to be a bit nervous but stood her ground. “I mean look at the rest of us. We all have family, she doesn’t. She spends a lot of time in that house alone. Her parents are never around. We go home to our parents each night. Who does she have? Shiro and Kuro. I’m sure they are helpful, but they can never replace a family.”

 

           Lulu sank back into her seat. Poppy just stared at her, completely dumbfounded. Lux and Janna were just looking like someone had just hit them in the face and they were trying to process it. Poppy eventually hopped down from the bar stool and took a seat at the table, her head low and she was making every effort to avoid eye contact with everyone. Lulu had called her out on the carpet, and Poppy knew that she was right. Eventually everyone came back to their senses and Lux looked around at the team.

 

           “Well I guess that said everything that needed to be said. Now we know that they will need energy, and quickly. The attack the other day shows that they are desperate. They will probably try another energy grab soon. With our 4-day weekend coming up, rest up because on that last day, we will need it. For now however, we need to be prepared for an attack, and it will probably be a big one. So what do we want to do with the rest of the day?” Lux looked around as she finished and it was clear that probably not training would be a good option.

 

           “I would suggest that you all go home and enjoy your evenings.” Vel’Koz had apparently come in at some point, unnoticed, and everyone turned to him. “After that, there is some tension and I’ve learned that it is better in this instance that spending some time apart is probably a good thing.” He turned and left. It was clear he was coming to say something else, but after what he overheard, it was probably best not to mention it. At least right now.

 

           The team seemed to agree as they all got up and headed home as a group, parting when they couldn’t continue with the group anymore. Lux was the last one to get home and she immediately went to her room and laid down on her bed. Dorcha and Solas hopped up to join her.

 

           “Thinking?” Solas asked as he looked at Lux, who was just staring at the ceiling.

 

           “Yes. I’m worried. If Jinx doesn’t come back, is there any way we can transfer her powers with what we have access to?” Lux turned to the two and they looked at each other nervously.

 

           “No. We need contact with the First Star in order to do it. While Guardians are capable of doing it themselves, as to recruit new members as they are needed, we can’t do it as we might mess something up.” Dorcha looked confused. So did Lux and Solas.

 

           “Ok that made no sense. Let me try that again.” Dorcha took a deep breath. “Basically we need to be in contact with the First Star. There are certain things that have to be performed in order for it to be done. The First Star sends someone, usually another Guardian to help with the transfer. If a Guardian is sent alone to a planet, they have the ability to recruit new members as needed, but they can’t transfer powers without someone else. Ok that made more sense. Although I’m sure we could probably figure it out, but I’d rather not try.” Dorcha finished and Lux and Solas looked better.

 

           “I’m guessing that if we tried something bad could happen?” Lux already knew the answer but decided to ask anyway.

 

           “Probably. My guess is that we’d lose the powers and they would be trapped like before. However, we’d have no idea what would happen if that were to happen. It took decades for the powers to come into the 5 of you. We have no idea how long the powers would take to remanifest.” Dorcha said as she paced back and forth on the bed. Lux and Solas just looked at her.

 

           “Ok then. We’ll not try it. We’ll just have to convince Jinx to come back. Though that will probably be just as hard.” Lux fell back onto her pillows as she finished. She knew that the options before them were not good, but either one was going to be a lot of work. Deciding that it might be easier to think tomorrow when they were off, Lux got up and decided to play some games. After a few games, she and Janna liked up, followed by Poppy, then Lulu. They were all just enjoying not thinking for a bit, well at least nothing serious.

 

           Finally, after they had played a few games, the group disbanded and Lux crawled into bed.

* * *

 

           On the moon, Malzahar and everyone else were looking over the plans for the upcoming attack. While only Kha’Zix, Rek’Sai, and Kog’Maw would actually go to the planet, they had almost all of their remaining Zzs ready.

 

           “This attack will take place in 6 separate areas. This is for two reasons. First, we hopefully spread the Guardians thin and maybe get away with a decent amount of energy.” Malzahar started as he looked over the plan.

 

           “Why not more locations?” Kog’Maw asked, knowing that there would be 6 people opposing them.

 

           “Because we can’t create more portals.” Malzahar replied. His voice wasn’t angry, rather understanding. Making sure they found as many bugs as possible right now was more important than his pride. At least for the moment. “If we had more energy, we could open more, but this also gives us another reason. Because there will be 6 separate engagements, we might have the opportunity to take down the guardians one-by-one.

 

           Everyone looked around and they all smiled. This might be their chance to destroy the guardians before that nexus was fully formed. This meant that Vel’Koz would have to resort to local support to defend their nexus, and that would be to their disadvantage. The guardians were much more powerful than anyone else that Vel’Koz would possibly get. Well except for himself and possibly that large creature he usually brought with him. Still, the fight tomorrow would be brutal and costly, but if they played everything right, then they might get away with enough.

 

           Malzahar looked over the plans again and then again, and found nothing they missed. Everything else, they would have to adapt to on the fly. That however, is where their plans usually fall apart. The guardians were usually quicker to adapt and quicker to move around.

 

           “Now everyone get some rest, we won’t execute for a day, but it never hurts to be prepared.” Malzahar shooed everyone out of the room and then he left for his quarters.

* * *

 

           The morning dawned and the lack of any cold at all told the team that today would probably not be a day for an attack. Still, that meant that Malzahar was probably going to be attacking tomorrow, which was also a day when most people had off. Most places billed it as a “city wide day of relaxation”, but that meant that the team was going to be even more hard pressed to prevent them from getting any energy whatsoever. If the past held true, then they would probably split up and cause as much chaos as possible.

 

           Everyone woke up late the following day. First because there was no school and second, because no one had any interest in doing anything related to being a Star Guardian. After some indecision Janna sent around a text asking if anyone just wanted to enjoy lunch and a movie. No one wanted object so they all quickly settled on a movie but with lunch first. As they all met up, they all quickly realized that not thinking about anything to do with what their responsibilities were, was actually enjoyable.

 

           “So who wants to place a bet?” Poppy asked as they all were eating.

 

           “Bet on what?” Janna said as she paused to look at Poppy seriously.

 

           “How bad this is going to be.” Janna just groaned as Lux and Lulu laughed. They had deliberately chosen a movie that while they all wanted to see it, they all also knew it was going to either be good or bad.

 

           “I’m betting bad. They can’t get anything right lately. Also the trailers were horrible.” Lux said, as she caught her breath.

          

           “I’m going with good. I think they were hiding something with all of the jumping around.” Poppy replied turning to Lulu.

 

           “Good as well. It looked interesting.” Everyone turned to Janna who quickly shoved another bite into her mouth so she could think.

 

           “I’m going to be a bit optimistic here and go with good as well.” It was now Lux’s turn to groan. Janna, Poppy, and Lulu laughed a bit as Lux then put her head on the table.

 

           “I hate you all. You know that right?” Lux said into the table, but that just made the others laugh even harder. When everyone finally got control of themselves, Lux finally picked her head up. “Well we’ll just see then.” Lux kept her voice cocky and the others just rolled their eyes. They finished lunch and headed over to the theater. As they left, Lux was still not happy. The movie was actually good and Poppy especially wasn’t going to let her forget it.

 

           “Oh come on, you didn’t actually think they spoil any of that in the trailers?” Poppy was barely containing herself as Lux kept just far enough ahead so Poppy couldn’t see her face.

 

           “No but they’ve messed up everything else.”  


           “True. But surprises always happen.” Lulu’s bubbly voice was enough to get Lux to finally smile. Well she was smiling during the movie, but now she was really smiling.

 

           “Ok fine you three win. What do we do now?” Lux turned as she pulled out her phone to check the time.

 

           “How about we go and blow something up?” Janna said. Poppy just lost it, Lux rolled her eyes, and Lulu was barely containing her laughter. “Oh come on, we all could use a good workout.” Janna immediately regretted that as the laughter continued, and she even started laughing as well. They all headed to the tower and found a crowd outside the library. Janna, being the tallest, stood on her toes to get a look around.

 

           “Apparently someone is deciding to be stupid. Come on.” Janna’s voice went from happy to annoyed as the team carefully maneuvered their way through the crowd. Poppy and Lulu had a bit of an easier time of it than Lux and Janna, but eventually they managed to get a good view. “Ok maybe not stupid.” Janna corrected herself as they could finally see the cause of the commotion. Apparently the stupid bit was someone trying to lift someone else to get a better view.

 

           In front of the library was a carefully controlled line as Lisna and Reah were apparently showing off a new clothing line that they managed to come up with and considering it was apparently school themed, and targeted towards teens, a library seemed appropriate. Or at least it was a good enough cover story. The team could tell Vel’Koz was doing his best to seem annoyed and when he managed to catch sight of them, he reached out.

 

           ‘Well at least the crowd isn’t going crazy. I hear nothing from these two for a few weeks, and then they do this. Well at least it is helping take the focus off me.’ Lux nodded as they looked around and they all managed to get to one of the main library entrances past the crowd. Making their way past Nasus, who seemed to be enjoying himself, somehow, and made their way to the tower.

 

           On the table was a note explaining what was going on, from Vel’Koz, and a second from Nasus explaining why he was in a good mood. Apparently Vel’Koz decided to handle the preparations for it, so his job was just managing the library. Vel’Koz was apparently regretting his decision. The team got a good laugh before transforming and heading up to the second floor to let off some steam. However, they could all barely focus and after half an hour, they came back down, where they found Nasus waiting for them.

          

           “Couldn’t focus?” He asked, even though the answer seemed obvious.

 

           “Not really. Too much to think about right now.” Lux said as the team took seats around the first floor.

 

           “Understandable. There are plenty of things to think about, especially with what is coming up in a few days. Hopefully there will be some action on that but also hopefully Jinx will come back. Now, Vel’Koz asked me to see if you all wanted to talk, but he said he can discuss it tomorrow if you wanted to wait.” Nasus let that hang as the team looked around.

 

           “Tomorrow would probably be better. He won’t get out of that for some time, and well, I think everyone wants to get home right now.” Nasus nodded as Janna trailed off as she looked around the room. The rest of the team nodded and they all powered down, and headed home, with Lux being the last to leave.

 

           “Don’t worry, she’ll come around. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Nasus said as Lux was just about out the door.

 

           “It’s ok. Maybe she will, but hopefully soon, or we will have to force her to come back.” Lux shuddered a bit at the thought and decided it would be best to wait until tomorrow to approach that topic again.

* * *

 

           “The final pieces are in place Great Prophet. We are ready.” Kog’Maw said as Malzahar looked over the plan once more. Malzahar was pleased with the plan, but saw one thing he could add.

 

           “What about Baron? Is he healed enough yet?” Malzahar turned to Cho’Gath who nodded.

 

           “He says he is ready, but I would suggest not unleashing him as the attack starts. Save him for when things get ugly.” Cho’Gath’s voice warned caution, and Malzahar turned away and thought for a few moments.

 

           “Very well then. Just remember that you must adapt as you go. We have let the guardians make a big step. Now we must counter that step with one of our own. Be prepared for tomorrow for it will be a glorious day, or it will be a disaster.” Malzahar let that last phrase hang as he left the room. Everyone turned to look at each other.

 

           “He’s right. Adapt or die. That has been a failing on all of our parts.” Cho’Gath huffed as he too left. Kha’Zix, Rek’Sai, and Kog’Maw looked at each other and knew that tomorrow was going to be a very long day.

* * *

 

           As the sun rose again over the horizon, the team slowly dragged themselves out of bed. The temperate was a bit chiller than the previous day, but nothing that would alarm them. Either Malzahar wasn’t doing any prepping, or he was already done, and the attack would be swift and sudden. Lux looked out her bedroom window as she saw the city getting ready for a relaxing day off, and knew that if Malzahar was going to attack, today would be the day. It was just when, not if. Poking Dorcha and Solas awake, Lux waited for them to fully wake up before she started talking.

 

           “I need you two to be around the city today, and be prepared should anything happen. We will do our best to respond, but we know that an attack is not, when, but if, and if there is going to be an attack, it probably will be today.” Lux kept her voice down as she could hear not only her parents, but Garen in the hallway.

 

           “We’ll keep an eye out, but breakfast first.” Solas used the poro eyes on Lux, who relented.

 

           “Fine.” She said as she picked the two up and headed downstairs. Garen had already made plans to meet his friends, and tried to get Janna to come along, bug failed. Her father was on duty and so was her mother as they also seemed to know something would happen today.

 

           “Lux. Luxanna!” Her mother’s voice knocked Lux out of her thoughts. “Can you at least respond?”

 

           “Sorry mom.” Lux kept her voice low as Dorcha and Solas were eating.

 

           “If anything happens today, then try and get somewhere safe. And let us know.” Lux turned to look at her mom, and she was completely serious.

 

           “Ok mom I will.” ‘Or it will be Dorcha and Solas texting you.’ “You think something is going to happen today?” Lux kept her voice neutral, trying to seem worried, which she was but a different type of worried.

 

           “Yes. I just have a feeling. I’d prefer you stay here, but I know you already have plans. And I probably couldn’t keep you home unless I stayed myself.” Lux noticed her father and Garen quickly sneak out the door. “Or your father…oh he’s already left hasn’t he?” The sound of a car starting and then quickly pulling away seemed to confirm that answer. Lux was trying not to laugh. “I guess that settles that. Just be careful.” Lux gave her mother a hug before she left.

 

           “Well that could have gone better.” Lux said, once she was sure that her mother was out of the house.

 

           “She’s just worried, and you are too I might add.” Dorcha said as she jumped onto the table.

 

           “I know. Let’s get to the tower and be prepared for anything. Forget what I said earlier. Advanced warning would have already come if Malzahar wasn’t going to be surprising all of us.” Lux headed back upstairs, changed, grabbed her bag, and after making sure Dorcha and Solas were safe inside it, headed out, reaching the tower last as she found the others already there.

 

           “Hopefully we will get at least some warning.” Janna said to Lux as she entered.

 

           “If we haven’t gotten it by now, then we won’t be.” Lux said as she put her bag down, pulled out her phone and put it with the others. Dorcha and Solas hopped out and waited for the time. Lux looked at Lulu who was carefully drawing something, and using a bright red color. Taking a closer look, Lux recognized the color, or at least one close enough. It was the same as Jinx’s hair when she transformed. Maybe it was a sign.

 

           “I have no idea.” Lulu mentioned as she looked up to see Lux watching her. “It just came to me this morning.”

 

           “Hopefully it’s good news. Or at least that’s what I took it as.” Janna said as Lux looked around. The team fell into the usual routine of waiting as they knew an attack was going to happen. Nasus even stopped by to get them lunch early as a just in case. It wasn’t that the lunch Nasus picked up for them wasn’t bad, it was great, but the tension in the air kind of spoiled the mood as everyone was on edge. As they finished and they saw the city going to lunch, they knew it was probably close enough. Malzahar was probably not expecting the day itself, but attacking around lunch hour put a lot of people in small spaces.

 

           “Let’s not wait for it to start.” Lux said as she got to her feet. The rest of the team joined her.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” The team transformed and waited, not knowing where the attack would happen. Vel’Koz floated in, apparently trying to help relieve the tension, but no sooner did he get next to the team, did they all feel it, and the map went crazy.

 

           “Well we knew it was going to happen.” Lux said, as she recovered from the cold wave. They all looked at the map and saw six separate attacks. “Well this isn’t want we need. It seems like they are trying to get as much as possible, as fast as possible. They are hitting the mall, Central Park (Kog’Maw), the East Common (Rek’Sai), The Market Square, The Shops, and the Downtown Restaurant District (Kha’Zix). We’ll have to deal with them all and as quickly as possible to reduce the damage.

 

           “Poppy, head to the mall. Confined spaces are where you fight best.” Poppy smiled and nodded her head. “Janna head for the East Common. It’s pretty open and close to The Shops. Debonair will probably find you so send him there.” Janna rolled her eyes as Lux finished. Zephyr took a second to get in a laugh before Janna silenced him with a look. Lux then turned to Lulu. “Head to the Restaurant District. There are plenty of places where you can get good angles with everything.” Lulu nodded and tightened her grip on her staff, while Pix looked serious. “I’ll try and deal with Central Park. Since Market Square is located close to the rest of the sites, whoever finishes first, head there. Go!” Lux quickly looked at Dorcha who had send a message to Jinx, and she just shook her head.

 

           “Sorry. Nothing.”

 

           “Hopefully something will happen.” Lux said as the team sprinted out the door.

 

           “I agree.” Dorcha said as she turned to the phones. The team had told their parents they would be at the library and then would head to the Market for lunch so the texts did come in, but they took their time in answering, hoping it would keep their families aware, but more concerned with everything else.

* * *

 

           The scene at the Mall was absolute chaos. Suffering its second attack in just a few days, people were flying out of it. Poppy had to fight though the crowed of understandably frightened people in order to get inside. Just getting over the threshold, it didn’t look good. Whatever had happened, it happened quickly as there were a lot of people on the ground. Poppy checked a few of them, and after feeling that they were just knocked out, she moved to try and get a better view. However, no sooner did she round the corner, did she get hit with several Zzs.

 

           Poppy swung her hammer and quickly fought them off just long enough to get a good view of what was going on. There wasn’t anyone leading them, just a horde of Zzs throwing orbs through a portal and gathering more from all around. Poppy swung her hammer again and charged as she tried to get to the portal, but the Zzs kept getting in her way and blocking her. In some cases, they actually knocked her into a few stores to delay her as long as possible. Getting frustrated Poppy swung her hammer several times to get some breathing room and noticed the horde was thinning.

 

           Getting a better look, she saw that they were retreating through the portal with the orbs. “So a simple smash and grab, well not on my watch.” Poppy charged again, vaporizing Zzs as she again attempted to make her way to the portal, but even though there were fewer Zzs, they had less area to cover and they still made a formidable defense. Poppy then charged up her hammer and brought it down with a massive slam, putting cracks in the floor, but also clearing a path, or at least somewhat of a path.

 

           Not wasting her opportunity, Poppy once again charged straight, trying to get close enough, but Zzs stopped her again by physically colliding with her to slow her down. Poppy was forced to use her hammer like she was in a video game to even get breathing room, but she did notice something out of the corner of her eye. Zzs were abandoning orbs in favor of getting through the portal. Poppy charged again, only to get knocked to the side again. Getting to her feet, Poppy tried to move around to try and get a better angle, but nothing worked.

 

           “Well this isn’t going as planned.”

* * *

 

           As Janna reached the East Common, there was a sight that she didn’t want to see. Rek’Sai was directing a small amount of Zzs, who were collecting orbs and throwing them through the portal while collecting more. Janna quickly wound up a twister and let it fly. Rek’Sai clearly had not been anticipating a quick response, so she was caught off guard. As soon as she saw Janna, Rek’Sai charged right at her, only to get slowed down by Zephyr, while Janna let loose with a few bolts from her staff while getting out of the way.

 

           Rek’Sai quickly burrowed under the ground while Janna kept on the move to avoid being attack. Rek’Sai unburrowed and tried to catch Janna off guard, only to get another twister in her face. Slamming back down to the ground hard, Rek’Sai quickly shook off the stun while Janna did manage to get a few Zzs and orbs. Rek’Sai knew she was working with a smaller group than the others, so any she lost, were going to be a problem.

 

           Janna was keeping an eye on Rek’Sai while she moved around to avoid the Zzs as well, but they were a thin line to keep her distracted while the rest tried to get more orbs through. Janna managed to get a twister and Rek’Sai jumped to protect the orbs, only to get hit by the twister, which Janna correctly predicted where she would be. Rek’Sai roared and charged again, only to get hit with a pulse to the face. Janna turned to see Debonair running to join her, but Janna raced towards him.

 

           “We need you to get to the shops and stop the attack there.” Janna turned to see Rek’Sai charging again, and expertly moved out of the way, slowed Rek’Sai, then sent her into the air again. “I’ll be fine. Go!”

 

           “Ok. I hope to see you there.” Debonair sent a few pulses into Rek’Sai for good measure before he took off towards the Shops nearby. Janna was thankful he didn’t put up a fight, but she was still a bit out of her element. Still, this was her specialty, controlling a fight.

 

           “Ok Rek’Sai, let’s dance.” Janna charged up another twister, while sending more bolts towards the orbs. Rek’Sai just watched as a few more exploded and then roared again.

* * *

 

           Lulu was running into the Restaurant district and it was clear that someone was at work. Lulu sent a few glitterlances at the orbs the Zzs were gathering, shattering a few. That was all it took to get their attention and they immediately swarmed to protect the orbs as they threw more through the portal. Lulu was about to throw another lance, when Pix squeaked and Lulu quickly dodged out of the way. Where she just was, Kha’Zix had his blades imbedded into the pavement. Lulu turned and got to her feet.

 

           “Well it seems that this will be easy. I get the one who…” Kha’Zix started to taunt Lulu, only for her to throw a glitterlance into his face, then throw a few bolts at the Zzs, but none got through to the orbs. Kha’Zix leaped towards Lulu, who again dodged out of the way and then shielded herself as Kha’Zix took a swipe at her. The barrier absorbed the damage and Lulu then morphed Kha’Zix and she used the time to send a few more bolts and lances at the Zzs, who’s numbers were thinning, but she still couldn’t hit the orbs.

 

           “You miserable little thing. Either fight fair or just let me finish you.” Kha’Zix roared as he jumped again and Lulu again dodged and shielded herself.

 

           “Then how about you do the same. I mean, you don’t even fight fair. You go invisible, and bring friends to a single fight.” Lulu then shot a glittlerlance at Kha’Zix, who didn’t dodge it as he paused thanks to Lulu’s unusual comeback. Kha’Zix was knocked backwards several feet as he tried to regain his balance, only to have Lulu transfigure him again and take more shots at the orbs, a few of which did get through, but only hit a few empty, or near empty orbs.

 

           Transforming back, Kha’Zix immediately jumped at Lulu, only to have her shield herself and speed up, and his blades connected with nothing but air. Lulu then noticed an opening and knowing she would pay for it, took the shot anyway. Kha’Zix, instead of leaping towards Lulu, jumped in front of the orbs, saving about half of the ones Lulu aimed at but losing the rest. Lulu, who had been prepared for Kha’Zix’s strike, instead kept up the fire by making him dodge around while she threw attack after attack.

 

           “Would you stop moving? It is only making this more difficult.” Kha’Zix yelled after he had to dodge another attack and missed Lulu, who was keeping up moving and firing.

 

           “Try and catch me then.” Lulu taunted, only to have Kha’Zix roar and get turned into another creature as Lulu shot more bolts at the orbs, but the Zzs managed to absorb them. “This isn’t going well.” Lulu said to Pix as the two looked at Kha’Zix who had transformed back. “Well we’ll just have to figure it out then.”

* * *

 

           Debonair ran into the Shops only to see Zzs everywhere. Turning, he quickly unloaded with is weapon, but missed all of the orbs he was aiming at. It was clear there was no one in real control, just a small horde of Zzs trying to get as many orbs through as possible. Looking around, Debonair now saw why the Guardian had sent him here. It was chaos as people tried to flee the area, only to get zapped by the energy collectors. The Zzs were moving orbs as fast as they could through the portal, but it wasn’t fast enough as the pile kept growing faster than it could be depleted.

 

           “Ok then. Let’s try this.” Debonair threw out his gate, and fired one massive shot, before quickly moving and aiming again. The large pulse was quickly absorbed by some Zzs, but what was next, they didn’t expect. Using the hole he created, Debonair fired several pulses through and managed to get quite a few orbs. The Zzs responded in a manner however that he wasn’t expecting. Instead of charging him, they instead formed a tighter circle. Knowing it probably wouldn’t work again, at least not at the moment, Debonair decided to keep up the fire and thin the horde before taking another large shot.

 

           Because they were so desperate to defend the orbs they collected, the Zzs were moving them through a lot more slowly, so the pile kept getting larger, until it was clear there was no one left to drain. Debonair, seeing this, tried the same play, but instead moved in a different direction and fired at a different area. He did hit more Zzs intercepting the shots, but a lot did make it through the thinner area, destroying more orbs.

 

           “Come on you little voidspawn, either attack me, or run!” He yelled as he transformed his weapon. Thinking for just a second, he quickly changed it back and kept up the fire. Knowing that he did have time, as the more he kept firing, the slower they could move the orbs through the portal as they kept having to replace losses as he destroyed them.

 

           “Ok then, if that is how we are going to do this, then that’s how this is going to be then.” Charging his weapon again, he fired another large pulse, and then several more small pulses, and kept up the pattern as more and more shots kept breaking through. The Zzs kept trying to form tighter and tighter circles to protect the orbs. “Well then, let’s keep this up.”

* * *

 

           Lux sprinted through the crowds running out of Central Park, and it was clear Kog’Maw was causing the chaos. Lux took a shot at Kog’Maw and he was clearly unprepared as he took several bolts right in the face. Kog’Maw turned and fired off a few shots at Lux, trying to keep her out of range of her bindings and singularities. Lux seemed to understand this as she kept dodging but getting closer with every move. Eventually, Lux managed to get a binding to connect on Kog’Maw, who desperately shot as much as he could but Lux just shielded herself and took the few hits, but her singularity was the one that really did the damage as she managed to get into range and shattered a large amount of orbs.

 

           “You annoying guardians. Always interfering. Always annoying. Always standing in our way. Now you won’t.”

 

           “Just try it worm.” Lux said, but couldn’t finish as Kog’Maw opened up again and Lux had to dive to avoid his attack. Kog’Maw kept up the fire and he kept up on Lux’s tail as she tried again to get in range, but his constant movement kept her from landing a binding. Watching her movements, Lux eventually managed to snag Kog’Maw and get off another singularity as Kog’Maw fired off his acid bombs to keep Lux away, but he missed every shot as Lux kept up her movements to avoid the splashes.

 

           As the binding wore off, Lux again kept moving around while Kog’Maw kept up his pursuit, but now, he was lagging behind, allowing Lux to fire bolts from her baton and a few singularities to shatter orbs. Kog’Maw saw his Zz horde was finally moving back to preserve the orbs that remained, but they wouldn’t stop Lux’s singulariies, so Kog’Maw ordered them to attack her instead.

 

           “Well this just got complicated.” Lux said to herself as she again threw a singuarlity, this time around herself as she dived out of the way, catching not only Kog’Maw, but quite a few Zzs in the blast. She threw a binding behind her and while it failed to catch Kog’Maw, it did eliminate two of the Zzs following her. Lux kept throwing bolts from her baton at both the Zzs protecting the orbs and the ones purusing her, but their numbers, while thinning, still were enough to keep her from throwing a singularity to shatter more orbs as she kept using it to slow down her pursuers.

 

           As Lux rounded yet another picnic on the ground, when she slipped and tumbled. Throwing her weight, Lux tried to roll out of it, but failed. She did however managed to shield herself and get up before she got overwhelmed. As she managed to get some distance, Lux turned to see Kog’Maw keeping himself between her and the orbs.

 

           “Great. I need a new plan. This isn’t going as fast as I want, and we still have that one attack area unchallenged.” Lux looked off towards where Market Square was, and closed her eyes.

 

           ‘Please Jinx, if you are out there, we need your help.’

* * *

 

           In Market Square, there was absolute chaos. However, Jinx was indeed there. Using her day off to think and enjoy herself. As soon as the attack began, she immediately ducked into an alley to avoid the chaos that was breaking out. However, while she was out of sight, she could still hear the screaming, the yells, and the panic that was nearby. Jinx put her hands over her ears to block out the noise, and for a few minutes it worked, but then everything was silent.

 

           Putting her hands down, she crept up to the alley entrance, and looked around the corner. Everyone was on the ground and Jinx could see Zzs running around, collecting the orbs that were filled with energy. That is when it hit her. This is what Lux was talking about. It wasn’t about anyone on the team, it was about everyone else. Jinx expected chaos, but it was the silence is what finally rammed it into her head. It was eerie, disturbing, and chilling all at the same time. Never used to thinking about others, Jinx now made herself think. Granted it was a bit difficult, but she still did it.

 

           Jinx looked around carefully and it was really the silence, coupled with seeing everyone on the ground is what really hit her the most. The Zzs were of course making noises, and there were sounds from the distance, but nearby, it was all quiet, or relatively speaking. Jinx could feel tears in her eyes, and quickly wiped them away.

 

           ‘This is what she meant. If we do nothing, how long before this happens to me?’ Jinx asked herself the question that immediately had an answer. Reaching to her neck, Jinx found nothing. She then remembered what happened. How she got angry at everyone else; how she started to walk away; how Lux tried to stop her; then how she powered down and threw her pendant into the sand. Jinx knew she would do something, but without that pendant, she couldn’t do anything. The realizations hit her all at once and unable to even to do anything, Jinx took a few shaky steps backward, collapsed against the wall of the alley, and tears started running down her cheeks.

 

           For a few minutes Jinx just sat in the alley, unable to do anything, and unable to think. Something brushed against Jinx’s cheek, but instead of looking up, she just brushed it away. When it happened again, Jinx looked up, her eyes noticeably red. Sitting on her arm was Shiro, on the ground was Kuro, and next to Kuro was her pendant.

 

           “I don’t deserve you two.” Jinx said, her voice trembling but determined. She grabbed the pendant from the ground and unlike the last time, it felt warm in her hand. Jinx got to her feet, wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked at the two. “Ok then, let’s do this.” Shiro and Kuro just squeeked, and looked very serious. “Star Guardian Power Up!” Jinx transformed and again she felt warmth, not cold like she did previously. There was something else that briefly popped in her head. Something Lux said about how they all were more powerful together, when they fought together. She just needed to find her reason, and now that she had, there wasn’t anything that was going to stop her.

 

           “Ok you two, let’s go.” Shiro transformed into her minigun and Kuro squeaked. “Don’t worry Kuro, your time is coming.” Jinx took off out of the alley, carefully lined up a set of Zzs, and opened fire. The Zzs, clearly not expecting any resistance, were immediately destroyed. Jinx didn’t waste time switching to Kuro, and fired off several rockets at the collection of orbs, shattering a huge amount of them. Turning to Jinx, the Zzs quickly started to form a defensive perimeter, but Jinx saw what they were doing.

 

           “Oh no you don’t.” Jinx quickly switched back to Shiro and opened up on the forming perimeter. The Zzs quickly switched to trying to swarm Jinx while the rest tried to get orbs through. Jinx quickly ran to the side, still firing the whole time, and managed to get not only a small horde of Zzs, but she managed to get quite a few orbs as well. The Zzs again, tried to form a perimeter, but Jinx kept destroying anything they were trying to do. Jinx, remembering that a moving target was also harder to hit, kept moving around and working down the numbers of Zzs as they tried to get as many of the remaining orbs through the portal.

* * *

 

           Kha’Zix again swiped at Poppy, only to miss and hit the air again. Knowing that her time was quickly running out, judging by the amount of orbs that were remaining, Poppy tried again to force her way through, only to have to dodge out of the way again. Seeing an opportunity, Poppy took a swing at Kha’Zix and instead of it just connecting, the hit sent Kha’Zix flying across the area and into a nearby wall. Stunned, Poppy just stood there for a split second before refocusing on the orbs, and charging. She hit the Zzs, but they quickly broke after a few swings and Poppy managed to break through to the orbs.

 

           Quickly charging up her hammer, Poppy brought it down and sent Zzs flying, and Kha’Zix, who had tried to jump Poppy again. Hitting yet another wall, Kha’Zix knew it was over. “This isn’t over guardian” he spat as he opened another portal, and fled through it, with the Zzs that were left. Poppy looked around and wondered what happened as she looked around and saw there were still orbs left. Poppy quickly made short work of them and started running off towards Market Square to try and control the situation there.

 

           Still, something was bugging her. Why did something change all of a sudden. Pushing it out of her mind for the moment, Poppy ran out of the mall and towards the Square.

* * *

 

           Janna sent another twister towards Rek’Sai, only to have it miss as Rek’Sai dived below ground again. Moving quickly, Janna sent a few bolts towards the Zzs and orbs, which for some reason got through and did a lot of damage. Puzzled for a second, Janna stopped and it was almost a big mistake. Jumping quickly, Janna dodged out of the way as Rek’Sai erupted from below the surface flailing with her claws, only to hit nothing but air.

 

           Janna turned quickly and after sending Zephyr to slow down Rek’Sai, sent yet another twister, which sent Rek’Sai high into the air and then slamming down, with a lot of force as she was sent higher than anything she had managed previously. Rek’Sai also seemed surprised as she was slow to get up. Janna, wasting no time, charged up another twister, and set Rek’Sai flying again. This time, she landed near the portal, and deciding she’d had enough, fled through it. The Zzs followed behind her and the portal closed while leaving a large amount of orbs behind.

 

           Janna quickly shattered them with bolts from her staff and then remembering something, sprinted off to join Debonair at The Shops. When she got there, she found Debonair had mostly dealt with the situation and the Zzs were fleeing through the portal as quickly as he was shooting them. When the last one had gotten through, the portal closed and he shattered the orbs that remained. Turning, he saw Janna coming towards him.

 

           “Tough fight?” He asked as Janna stopped next to him.

 

           “You could say that. What about you?” Janna kept her voice neutral, but it was hard to keep the exhaustion out of her voice.

 

           “Not really actually. They mostly tried to defend the orbs, so I just kept shooting them and eventually shots got through. Where to next?” Debonair clearly was ready for more, and Janna just rolled her eyes.

 

           “Market Square. It was undefended.”

 

           “Let’s go then.” They both sprinted off towards the square, running into Poppy along the way.

* * *

 

           Kha’Zix jumped again only to have his blades catch air. Lulu kept moving around and dodging his attacks, while she kept up firing glitterlances into his face. He had managed to get a few spikes to connect, wounding Lulu in the arm, but that wasn’t stopping her, or slowing her down for that matter. Using Pix to jump between them, shielding Lulu and damaging Kha’Zix, Lulu kept up the attacks as she also kept throwing bolts from her staff, and a few glitterlances, at the Zzs circling around the orbs.

 

           Lulu moved around again and managed to fire off another glitterlance at the Zzs, and it just ripped through them. Both Lulu and Kha’Zix stopped for a second to stare because of the power that it had before Kha’Zix decided enough was enough. He knew that sooner or later, Lulu was going to get the upper hand. Instead of running though, he charged at Lulu again, to give the Zzs just a bit more time to get things through the portal. Lulu however, managed to dodge around everything and keep going. She kept Kha’Zix at bay with glitterlances and using Pix’s shield to absorb damage while she kept up at the orbs.

 

           Eventually, Kha’Zix realized he couldn’t delay any longer and ran for the portal. Lulu, seeing this, quickly moved to stop him, but wasn’t able to. Kha’Zix managed to get through the portal and was followed by the Zzs still left before the portal was closed. Lulu looked a bit disappointed, but did shatter the remaining orbs before she remembered about Market Square and quickly set off in that direction.

* * *

 

           Kog’Maw was not making it easy for Lux as he kept moving around and kept denying Lux and opportunity to attack the orbs with her singularities. Instead, she had to keep using them to slow him down, and the Zzs that weren’t involved with the chase. Keeping her eyes open, Lux kept moving and trying to get enough distance between her and Kog’Maw, but he kept up the chase. Saving her binding until he needed it, Lux eventually became frustrated and threw it behind her. What happened next was unexpected.

 

           The binding did connect with one Zz, but the second target was Kog’Maw who was immeidatly in quite a lot of pain. Granted Lux’s bindings were rather painful, but this one hit hard. Kog’Maw, in response, screamed and it caused the Zzs chasing Lux to pause and move towards him. Lux, hearing the scream knew she had only a few seconds and threw a singularity towards the orbs, managing to catch quite a few of them, before she turned to look at Kog’Maw. He was clearly in pain and Lux looked at her baton and questioning what happened.

 

           Lux looked up just in time to see Kog’Maw get out of the binding, and clearly enraged, he charged towards Lux, only to have Lux shield all of the damage that he put out. Reacting quickly to this, Lux threw another binding, which connected before she threw another singularity and both exploded in Kog’Maw’s face. He roared in anger, which caused the Zzs to run towards the portal. Lux, seeing her opportunity, quickly made use of it and proceeded to unleash bolts from her baton at the now absent Zz line and she made short work of the remaining orbs.

 

           Kog’Maw, seeing this, quickly made for the portal and jumped through it, sealing it quickly just after the last of the Zzs made it through. There were still some orbs and Lux quickly shattered them. Lux took a deep breath before heading away from Central Park and towards Market Square to deal with the last attack location. However, Lux didn’t even get a chance to get out of the park before a loud roar behind her told her that the next fight was going to be right on top of her.

* * *

 

           “All 6 portals have collapsed Prophet. We must either deploy Baron, or save it.”

 

           “How much energy have we collected Cho’Gath?” Malzahar was clearly debating it.

 

           “More than expected, but less than we hoped. We can recall Baron with excess energy and still have more than enough to prepare for the nexus fight to come. We might also be able to do damage to the guardians.”

 

           “Very well then. Arise Baron!”

* * *

 

           As Janna, Poppy, and Debonair sprinted towards Market Square, they heard a loud roar echo through the city. They all quickly stopped and tried to determine where it was coming from.

 

           “Where was that?” Poppy asked looking all around her.

 

           “My guess is Central Park. It is the only way we could have heard it that loud based on where we are.” Debonair said, and with little else to contradict him, they sprinted towards the park. It was clear he was right as they saw Lux there, looking at Baron, who seemed to enjoy making an entrance. Poppy immediately sprinted off to join Lux, but Janna turned and put a hand on Debonair’s chest.

 

           “Please, not this time. None of us will ignore what you have done for us, but please sit this one out. I have a feeling it won’t be like last time. We got lucky there, I doubt we will get it a second time.” Janna braced herself for an argument, but it didn’t come.

 

           “Ok then. Good luck, and stay safe.” Debonair took off but Janna saw he didn’t go far. He took position near one of the small groves of trees and waited there to watch the fight. While Janna had wished he went home, she was still touched by the gesture as she made her way to join Lux and Poppy.

 

           Lulu was close behind Janna, having also changed direction when she heard the roar. They both quickly jumped into combat with Janna trying to shield everything, and Lulu moving from damage to support as needed.

* * *

 

           Jinx watched the last of the Zzs retreat through the portal and it slammed shut behind them. Jinx transformed Kuro back to his regular form as they started moving away from the Square. “I’m going to have to go and explain now won’t I?” Jinx aksed the two as she looked between them. Both of them just glared at her as if to say “yes”. “Ok. Well now’s a good time.” No sooner had the words left Jinx’s mouth did a loud roar echo through the city.

 

           “Oh not again.” Jinx half considered running, but then she remembered what Lux said. None of them knew what they had signed up for and they were all just trying their best. Shiro and Kuro were looking at Jinx, almost scared, but Jinx had no intentions of running this time. The fear and anger she had previously were gone, replaced by determination. Ok maybe a little fear, but that is what keeps you on your toes.

 

           “Let’s go!” Jinx sprinted out of the square and towards Central Park, somehow knowing that is where it was.

* * *

 

           Poppy dived out of the way again as Baron shot out more spikes to try and hit her. Janna provided a barrier in case poppy missed, while Lux and Lulu took the opportunity to hit two of Baron’s heads. Baron was clearly not enjoying this, but their spells weren’t doing enough damage. Jinx was their power and in this situation, they were just being pests. But enough bug bites will kill anything eventually.

 

           Lux turned for a brief second to look at Janna and Lulu, when Poppy suddenly tackled her out of the way of yet another acid volley. They tumbled down and managed to land on their feet. Well mostly. “Thanks. We have to at least force it to retreat.” Lux said and Poppy immediately took off back into the fight. Lux kept up the damage, but again it just wasn’t enough.

 

           Baron, now clearly growing annoyed, lashed out with its body and managed to knock both Janna and Lulu out of position. Lux immediately threw up a barrier around herself and Poppy, and knew they would need some breathing room to regroup. Lux focused her powers and jumped into the air. “Final Spark!” The beam of light shot out and connected with all of Baron’s heads. Lux had only been aiming for one, and it clearly did something.

 

           Baron was reeling from the beam as it lashed out, but missed everything it tried to attack with. Lux and Poppy quickly made their way to Janna and Lulu, who were picking themselves up. Clearly they were both injured, but neither of them tried to show it.

 

           “Ok we need a new plan.” Poppy yelled as Baron continued to roar. “Because that isn’t going to work again.”

 

           “We have to either force it to retreat on its own, or get Malzahar to recall it. Either way, we just have to keep it up. Keep moving, and don’t stop. Unless you have something better?” Lux turned to Poppy and she just shook her head. “Ok then, move!” The team quickly moved back into action and Baron was clearly not as focused as he used to be. It was missing attacks, and spikes as it tried to fend them off. Still, it wasn’t enough. Finally Baron managed to fully shake off Lux’s beam and it hit all four of them, knocking them to the ground.

 

           Once they landed, Lux threw up a barrier around all of them to try and absorb some of the incoming acid barrage, but they all knew, it wasn’t going to be enough.

* * *

 

           Malzahar was watching with great interest. “Finally we will destroy at least four of those pesky guardians.” Malzahar was laughing, as was Cho’Gath. The rest had gone to get healed after the fights. Malzahar looked back at the screen where Baron was priming an acid barrage, when the whole battle was suddenly obscured by smoke and fire.

 

           “What just happened?!” Malzahar roared with rage but no one had an explanation. When the smoke cleared, it showed a red-headed guardian charging towards baron, firing the whole time.

 

           “NO!”

* * *

 

           Jinx arrived at the edge of Central Park only to see the rest of the team get knocked aside by Baron. Jinx didn’t even get a chance to process that before Baron opened up its mouths and Jinx could see an acid barrage charging up. Shiro and Kuro squeaked and Jinx knew what she had to do. Jinx focused her powers and transformed Shiro and Kuro into their massive launcher.

 

           “Three heads, and not one of them had a brain.” Jinx lined up the shot and took one last deep breath. “Double Trouble!” Jinx fired the launcher and the rocket hit home, smack in the middle of Baron’s center head. Immediately switching to Shiro, Jinx ran into the park, firing the minigun the entire time.

* * *

 

           The team braced for the acid but before it could even fire, something exploded right in Baron’s face, sending smoke and fire everywhere. The team was puzzled but then another sound echoed through the park, it was clearly the sound of a minigun. Lux turned to see Jinx running into the park, with Shiro transformed and firing at Baron. Lux jumped to her feet, quickly followed by everyone else and they all quickly threw spells at Baron, who was now not having a good time.

 

           Lux took up position behind Jinx, who kept moving and firing, while Poppy kept up the melee damage and drawing Baron’s attention away from Lux, Lulu, and Jinx. Janna kept Poppy well supplied with shields as she kept moving around. The combined effort was now starting to have an effect. Baron was becoming less and less effective at hitting anything as the damage continued to pour in. The combined effort of the two teams quickly made work of Baron as it continued to try and hit, and while some attacks connected, many of them didn’t.

 

           Lux turned to Jinx and she nodded behind her. Jinx fell back and Lux motioned to Lulu to move up, which she did. Lux and Jinx looked at each other and smiled. “Thanks for coming back.” Lux said as she took a few deep breaths.

 

           “Well something you said finally made sense.” Jinx said as she looked towards baron. Lux nodded and Jinx pulled up the combined rocket launcher again, Lux focused her powers. Lux then looked up to the others.

 

           “Get down!” Lux yelled as she leaped into the air. Janna, Poppy, and Lulu hit the deck.  “Final Spark!”

 

           “Better Together!” The combination of Lux’s beam and Jinx’s mega rocket finally had the effect they were looking for. Baron roared but instead of trying to attack it tried to move away. The team took off after it, but suddenly a massive portal opened and Baron fled through it. The team stopped and watched, as the portal hadn’t closed yet, which was interesting. The answer was obvious as Malzahar flew out of the portal, which then shrank, but didn’t close.

 

           “You pesky guardians. You cannot defeat me. You cannot defeat the Void! We are endless and without number. Sooner or later, you will fail, and when you do, we will be there!” Malzahar started laughing as he looked down at the guardians.

 

           “Really? Because it seems like your plan fell apart this time. I mean I’m sure you got some energy, but wasn’t the goal to destroy us?” Lux taunted Malzahar, who had stopped laughing.

 

           “You insolent girl. You have no idea what you are doing. You have gotten lucky this entire time. Lucky. That is all you are.”

 

           “Really? Because it seems like most of the battles we win. Sure you got in a few here and there, but most of the time, we are victorious.” Lux looked out of the corner of her eyes and saw the team had caught on to what she was doing and were getting ready.

 

           “Again lucky. You cannot win every battle. Sooner or later, you will mess up. I mean, five girls against the all-powerful void. You have no chance.” Malzahar started laughing again and Lux jumped into the air, full well knowing that she was going to be exhausted. Before Malzahar knew what was happening he was hit with everything. Lux’s spark, Janna’s twister, Poppy’s buckler and she charged, Lulu’s Glittlerlance, and Jinx’s Mega Rocket. Malzahar screamed in agony as the damage was real. When he finally opened his eyes, only the blunt end of Poppy’s hammer was there. Poppy had swung and slammed Malzahar hard. He would have hit the ground, had he not opened another portal and fell through it.

 

           “Well, he’ll be back.” Poppy said as she landed and turned to the rest of the team, who were laughing. That is when they first noticed the massive amount of Police and EMTs standing around, waiting. Lux, though fully exhausted was somehow still on her feet. Janna, noticing this, allowed Lux to lean up against her as Caitlyn and Vi approached.

 

           “Well that was one hell of a fight wasn’t it?” Vi mentioned as the two got within earshot. Lux just nodded as Janna dug her staff into the ground to make sure she didn’t lose balance.

 

           “You could say that. How bad is it?” Lux asked as the officers got close enough so they didn’t have a chance of being overheard.

 

           “It’s bad. There will be a lot of people recovering, but the collateral damage is minimal. Except in the mall.” Caitlyn looked at Poppy as she spoke. Poppy just tried to hide behind Jinx, who saw what was happening and kept stepping to the side. Jinx eventually stood still after Poppy elbowed her in the back of the knee. Caitlyn did let her serious face slip for just a moment to allow herself a laugh at that. “But the point is that all of you did well under extreme circumstances. Build on this and hopefully we can avoid further damage, or future attacks.”

 

           “That probably won’t happen. If they were going to stop, they would have done so by now.” Janna said as Caitlyn finished. Everyone turned to her and regretfully nodded. They all knew it was the truth, even if she was the only one brave enough to say it.

 

           “True enough. So I would suggest being prepared. And getting some sleep.” Caitlyn finished and walked off, followed by Vi. Lux turned to the rest of the team and waved them out. She looked around briefly and saw Debonair was long gone. They all sprinted out of town, as it was a bit too risky to head back to the Library at the moment. They all headed for a familiar hill and finally managed to breathe once on it. The overlook of the city was amazing and 4 of them looked around to see everyone just trying to do their best. Jinx held back for a moment then walked up. The rest of the team turned to her as she took up a spot next to Lux.

 

           “So do you want to talk about it?” Lux asked as they looked down the hill.

 

           “Not really. Let’s just say that all of your talk finally sunk in. Also, well today was, a different experience.” Jinx was fighting back tears and Lux saw them. “But this time, I’m not going anywhere. After all, if I did, how long would it be until it was my turn?”

 

           “Probably not long judging by the way Malzahar keeps attacking.” Lux said as she put her arm around Jinx and pulled her into a hug. Janna, Poppy, and Lulu joined in and the team embraced each other as they were finally a full team. When they broke apart, they all just sat on the hill and enjoyed the view as the sun started to set.

* * *

 

           Malzahar would normally be running around screaming his head off at this point, but instead he was in a tube being healed after he got hit with, well, everything. Cho’Gath was overseeing the conversion of energy and there was going to be a nice take. More than they expected, but less than they hoped. They would have enough to fight for the nexus, and some extra, but they would have to manage it carefully, and Malzahar falling for the guardian’s trap didn’t help.

 

           “How’s he doing?” Kha’Zix asked as he entered the healing room. Cho’Gath turned to look at him.

 

           “Well he was stupid and it’s going to cost us. We still came out better than we needed and more than expected, but this would have put us into a safe zone. We should be fine, but we’ll have to manage carefully.” Cho’Gath knew that even if Malzahar was awake, he was free to talk.

 

           “When will he awaken?” Kha’Zix stayed back from the tube, but was still curious enough to stay in the room.

 

           “In a few hours, hopefully. He will need time to recover before the battle. I will lead the preparations for it.” Cho’Gath and Kha’Zix left the room to let Malzahar recover from his own stupidity. In the tube, Malzahar brooded to himself. He knew that Cho’Gath was right and he knew that his own hubris is what got him into it.

 

           ‘Next time the guardians won’t be so lucky. Still it wouldn’t hurt to exercise some self-restraint in the future. I’ll let Cho’Gath lead the preparations for the battle. We will then see what Vel’Koz is coming up with. That dirty traitor is up to no good.”

* * *

 

           As Lux looked up at the moon from the park, she looked around. Janna was under a nearby tree with Zephyr, reading a book. Poppy was climbing said tree as a challenge to not drop on Janna. Lulu was in another tree, sitting with Pix and enjoying herself. Jinx was under yet another tree relaxing with Shiro and Kuro. Lux looked down to see Dorcha and Solas on her lap, also seeming asleep.

 

           It was the first time they felt like a team and it was also a warning to Malzahar. They were whole, and nothing would break them apart. Lux turned up to the moon and smiled.

          

           “Come get us Malzahar. We will be waiting.”


	33. Ready Up, Because Here We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the team reunited and now truly together, they are now preparing for their hardest fight yet. The team still has some lingering issues from Jinx’s departure, and will have to settle those issues before the upcoming battle. However, before all of that happens, there is one more obstacle. Malzahar, still recovering from his previous experience of having will everything thrown in his face, tries one more time to get some energy for the upcoming battle.

           “So does anyone else think that Malzahar will attack this?” Poppy asked as she passed the flyer back to Lux.

 

           “If there is no attack, then I will be shocked.” Janna said from the island as she looked up. They were all passing around a flyer for a benefit concert in two days. With more time needed to solidify the nexuses, they had to push back the battle, which was a relief as they were all tired and really did need some sleep before the battle, which would have been the next day. Still they were still trying to wrap their heads around on how they were going to get out of school, but that was a matter for a different day.

 

           “So how are we going to get in?” Jinx asked the obvious question and everyone just sort of had somewhat defeated expressions on their face. The concert, while free, did have a limited number of tickets and they were all gone. They all knew that it would next to impossible to get tickets at this point and while they could go transformed, it would destroy any secret that they had.

 

           “Maybe we’ll get lucky. I mean you never know.” Lulu pipped up from the table where she was again drawing. Everyone looked at her and knew that she had sensed something. Still, it was enough for the team to be worried even more. The tickets had gone up quickly, and left just as quickly. While again they weren’t paid for, many left large donations to help those effected by the attacks. It was good that people, even after all of this time, were still coming together, and while several attacks recently had been much larger than anything previously, it still didn’t break people.

 

           Still, the prospect of using their powers to get into the concert was still a viable option. Even Vel’Koz only had four tickets, not enough to get them all in. They were going to draw straws if it became necessary. Hopefully they would get some good news when they all went home.

 

           “Ok, we aren’t going to come up with an answer here. Everyone go home.” Lux said, defeated as everyone was trying to come up with answers. After she watched Janna, Lulu, and Jinx leave, Lux turned to Poppy who had stayed behind. “Still don’t trust her?” Lux asked as she walked across the room and sat down to face Poppy.

 

           “Not completely. Sure she came back but I can’t trust her to run away again.” Poppy’s voice wasn’t hostile, rather concerned, and Lux nodded.

 

           “I trust her. Even you have to admit there was something different. Not only in her but in all of us. She found her reason, and honestly, that’s enough for me. Ok, I don’t trust her 100%, but…”

 

           “I would be shocked if you did.” Said a voice from the door. Jinx had reentered the tower as she clearly forgot her bag. “I mean, I wouldn’t.” Jinx’s voice was faltering as she was clearly holding back tears. The events of two days ago were still raw, and Jinx was clearly trying to make up for what she did. Poppy just looked and nodded her head.

 

           “It’s just going to take time.” Poppy finally managed to say while looking at Jinx. Jinx just smiled in return, grabbed her bag, and headed back out. “I don’t think I will ever completely trust her, but I can work with her.”

 

           “That will do for now. I guess. Just promise me to keep an open mind.” Poppy nodded at Lux and followed Jinx out the door. After looking around, Lux locked eyes with Dorcha and Solas. “Opinions?” Lux asked.

 

           “I think both of them are honest. Jinx is going to try. Sure she may fail quite a few times, but the fact she’ll try is something to be proud of. As for Poppy, I think she will come around. Sooner or later.” Dorcha’s voice was hesitant, but hopeful.

 

           “Yeah I agree with that. Except I think Poppy will come around faster than you think.” Solas said, turning to Dorcha. Dorcha just responded by glaring.

 

           “Ok can you two survive a trip back in my pack, or would you two rather find your own way home?” Lux kept her voice neutral, trying to defuse the situation.

 

           “I think a ride will be fine.” Solas said as he moved over to Lux and jumped in her pack. Dorcha soon followed and with one last look, Lux exited the tower and made her way home. The walk home was long, and not because she took the long route. Lux kept turning things over in her mind and knew that the team cohesion was fragile at best. True, Jinx had owned up to what she did, but the wounds of what she did will take time to heal. Poppy was reluctantly coming around, the fact Jinx saved her and the rest of them when she came back from Baron wasn’t lost, but Poppy was committed to doing this and Jinx only seemed to be committed due to some revelation. While that revelation was probably genuine, distrust will persist for some time.

 

           Lux had at this point subconsciously walked home and found herself face to face with Garen, who had apparently been following her for some time. Lux literally ran into him as Garen blocked the door. “Sorry, I guess my mind was elsewhere.” Lux said as a sort of apology as she finally looked up.

 

           “Lux, I’m worried. You have been off lately, and not just in your usual way. What’s going on? Come on, you know I won’t tell mom and dad.” Garen’s face betrayed his very real concern and Lux again debated telling him, but something still held her back.

 

           “It’s just stress. Tests coming up and you remember them.” Lux again told part of the truth.

 

           “I also remember that they weren’t this stressful. Lux something is going on and I know you well enough to know there is something, something big, that you aren’t telling me.” Garen’s eyes betrayed his concern, and Lux hated herself again for telling him the truth. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him to keep the secret that they all kept. Vel’Koz and Nasus both kept it, but including family was risky.

 

           On the other hand, he might make it easier to get away in a few days, especially from school. ‘Great now I have to ask everyone. This isn’t going to be easy.’

 

           “Just remember I’m here if you want to talk.” With that, Garen headed inside, the concern on his face was very evident. Lux just sighed and almost ran into him again as they both went inside.

 

           “What’s going on?” Lux asked, peaking around Garen. Lux looked at her father, who was holding up tickets. “Oh you have to be kidding me?!” Lux could barely contain her excitement. One major problem, at least for her, was gone.

 

           “No I’m not kidding. I was given 4 originally, but others gave them up as they didn’t need them, or didn’t want them. So now I’ve got 8. Garen, Lux, you can each invite two friends. Pick carefully.” Lux and Garen grabbed the extra tickets.

 

           “Jayce is so going to owe me. But who else?” Garen headed upstairs to ponder his dilemma while Lux knew exactly. She couldn’t get the whole team in, but she could get in enough.

 

           ‘anyone else get tickets?’ Lux sent in a text to everyone as she closed her bedroom door and letting Dorcha and Solas out of her pack.

 

           ‘Yeah. My parents got some for us. No extras however’ Janna sent back.

 

           ‘Parents got just 3.’ Poppy sent.

 

           ‘Same here.’ Lulu texted after a few minutes.

 

           ‘my parents? Give to charity? That’s funny.’ Jinx clearly knew she wasn’t going to get in. ‘don’t worry I can probably sneak in.’

 

           ‘I have an extra Jinx. No need to do that.’

 

           ‘Great. I’ll just meet you outside’ Lux breathed a bit easier as she looked over everything. This left her with an extra.

 

           ‘Amy get any tickets for the concert?’ Lux was hoping for a no.

 

           ‘No my mom was too far back in line. Why?’

 

           ‘I have an extra’

 

           ‘OMG YES’ Lux just smiled as she could practically hear Amy’s voice.

 

           ‘Just meet me outside the gates.’

 

           ‘I WILL. Sorry not sorry caps.’ Lux leaned back in her chair as she knew her plans were set. Just when she thought she could put all things out of her head, something reared its ugly head again. Lux picked up her phone again, but thought better of it. She wasn’t willing to reveal everything yet. Maybe there would be a time in the future, but it wasn’t today.

 

           “Maybe closer to exams” Lux said to no one in particular as she turned to her computer.  

* * *

 

           “We are still in need of energy if we are to have a safe buffer in case we lose.” Cho’Gath was looking over the large amount of energy that was still to be converted, but he still wasn’t happy.

 

           “You want to propose that to him, be my guest.” Rek’Sai was looking at Cho’Gath with annoyance. His idea, his proposal in her eyes.

 

           “I will, but I need to approach it tactfully. He will say this is enough, but I disagree. If our battles and fortunes of late have taught us anything, it is that being prepared can’t hurt. We have learned that lesson, or at least I hope we have. Still we need to find an event or something where we can get a large amount quickly.”

 

           “I may have an answer” came a voice. Cho’Gath and Rek’Sai turned to see Malzahar floating in the doorway, and judging by the expression on his face, he’d been there for a while. “I would also have no argument to expanded reserves. After all, we can’t assume victory. Those pesky guardians are proving to be more trouble than they are worth.” Malzahar finished and floated into the room pulling a piece of paper from beneath his robes.

 

           “I went to the planet earlier and saw a notice for this upcoming event. Apparently it is some sort of concert to raise money for the ‘victims’ of our attacks. This will put a lot of people in a very small area for quite some time. Preparation will be key to making this a success. The concert is taking place here, in their main sports stadium. The capacity of the stadium will be somewhere near 100,000. Plenty of people to zap energy from.” Malzahar looked pleased but one look at Cho’Gath caused his face to drop. “What is it?”

 

           Malzahar’s question had barely left his mouth when he realized what Cho’Gath was about to say, but Cho said it anyway. “There is little doubt the guardians will be watching this event. We will have to change strategy if we are to be successful. I would recommend multiple small attack points with Rek’Sai, Kha’Zix, and myself being distractions and drawing the guardians away. While Kog’Maw directs the Zzs and harnesses energy.”

 

           “I would disagree with that. Kog’Maw directing what little Zzs we have left?” The look on Malzahar’s and Cho’Gath’s faces were identical as Rek’Sai seemed satisfied with her answer. “I’ll direct the Zzs while Kog’Maw causes a distraction. He’s better at it anyway.”

 

           “What about me?” Kha’Zix now entered the room and walked over to the table. “I can be a director.” He looked around, took on the faces of everyone involved, and then shrugged. “Maybe not.”

 

           “Good, then get prepared. We strike during the concert, not as soon as it starts as that would be foolish.” The group dispersed as Malzahar looked over the beginnings of the plan and smiled. “We won’t get out unscathed, but we will get what we need.”

* * *

 

           As morning dawned, the team woke up to a somewhat cooler day. However, the feeling they all got was that there would be an attack on the concert tonight. Lux turned on the TV in her room, only to have the media confirm that the police were expecting an attack, but they still wished for the concert to proceed. Lux just watched as the media kept warning people to be vigilant for the upcoming attack when she failed to notice her own phone until Dorcha rubbed up against Lux’s hand.

 

           “What? Oh.” Lux picked up her phone and saw a text message from an unknown number.

 

           ‘I hope you have some time to talk today about what is going on tonight. –C’ Lux knew it was from Caitlyn and as to how she got her cell number, well that was probably just part of her job.

 

           ‘I’ll be there in about an hour if that is ok?’

 

           ‘That will be fine.’ Lux took a deep breath and then looked at Dorcha and Solas.

 

           “You two want to stay here, or come with?” Lux hoped they would stay home but it was unlikely.

 

           “We’ll both head to the tower and wait for you there. Oh get up!” Dorcha added seeing Solas had fallen back asleep. However, he didn’t wake up. So, Dorcha pushed up against him and eventually knocked him on the floor.

 

           “Was that really necessary?” He said as he shook himself fully awake.

 

           “Well you weren’t going to wake up any other way. Now let’s get going.”  Solas still looked angry but followed Dorcha out the window and to the tower. Lux was looking around to make sure she was alone, but then realized that transforming here was probably a bad idea. Since Caitlyn knew her identity, it would be easier to get in, but it was probably better that she arrived in a different manner. Thinking quickly, she pulled out the pen, and went to the tower. Leaving it quickly after grabbing a cloak, she found Nasus doing his rounds.

 

           “Fell like taking a drive?” Lux asked as Nasus stopped and turned to her.

 

           “Is this related to tonight in any way?” Nasus asked, his voice betraying him.

 

           “Yes.”

 

           “Great, I’ll get the keys.” Nasus walked away quickly and Lux had to put her hands over her mouth to prevent her from laughing. He had clearly been looking for an excuse to get out of something. Lux ducked into the dock and after making sure she was alone, pulled her locket.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Lux transformed and quickly pulled on the cloak. Nasus arrived a minute later.

 

           “Ready?” Lux nodded as she got into the front seat of the car. Nasus pulled out then turned to her. “Police Station I’m guessing?”

 

           “Yeah Caitlyn texted me to come. I’m going to assume it will be about the security for the night.”

 

           “It seems odd doesn’t it. Just a few months ago, her attitude was completely different. It seemed unlikely that she would ever come around.” Nasus’ voice was clearly upbeat, but Lux knew better.

 

           “I really doubt she came around. She clearly still doesn’t like the idea, but she’s also practical. She’ll work with what she’s got and in this case, she knows that working with us, is better than trying to work around us.”

 

           “Valid point. Still, you have to admit, she does seem to be at least more open than back then?” Nasus let the question hang while Lux pondered what Nasus said.

 

           “Perhaps, but don’t forget, she’s good at hiding what she’s thinking.” Lux turned to look out the window as she spoke to think a bit more.

 

           “Another good point. We should be there in a few minutes.” Nasus said as he looked back. Lux was clearly thinking and he decided that further conversation was probably not a good option. Once they arrived at the station, Nasus picked a secluded spot and then turned around. “I’ll be here waiting. If I’m not in this exact spot when you get out, then head back to the tower.” Lux turned to him and nodded before getting out.

 

           It was no surprise to Lux that Caitlyn was waiting in the lobby for her and waved Lux over when she entered. Following her back, Caitlyn led them to her office, and closed the door. “I’m glad you were able to interpret my message. No questions then about how I got it?”

 

           “I can think of a few ways, besides not asking my father. I honestly don’t care since it is probably a good thing.” Lux said as she lowered the hood and took a seat across from Caitlyn, who sat down behind her desk. Caitlyn just smiled as a reply.

 

           “Then to business. The odds of this concert tonight being attacked are extremely high. Now, I know you have tickets through your father, but about the rest of your squad.”

 

           “We all have tickets.” Lux interrupted while leaning back. Caitlyn also leaned back as if a small weight had been lifted.

 

           “Well that’s one less headache I have to worry about. As for the plans tonight, we aren’t working on security. We decided to go with a quick evacuation plan. Given how these things quickly spin out of control, having a solid evacuation plan was the best solution.” Lux picked up on a hint of annoyance and for once decided to press it.

 

           “It wasn’t your idea was it?” Lux asked, keeping her voice low as to not offend.

 

           “No it wasn’t. I was in favor of canceling it all together but I can’t. Too much pressure from politicians and others. Plus, the help it is bringing in is too much to ignore.” Caitlyn let her voice slip again.

 

           “So between a rock and a hard place then?” Lux asked as she put her elbows on her knees and put her head in her hands.

 

           “Exactly. Neither option is good, so expect the worst and prepare for it. In this case, the hard place, can at least be prepared for.” Caitlyn leaned forward and put her hands on her desk. “Something you should also know, your father is getting suspicious of you and your activities. I’m sure your brother is too.”

 

           “Yeah, he already talked to me about it.” Lux sighed as she finished, clearly not wanting to talk about the subject.

 

           “Again, I can see why you are keeping it from your father. 17 years of working with him and I know what he will do. Princess in a tower.” That got them both to laugh. “But I would consider telling your brother. He seems trustworthy and able to keep a secret. It might also make it easier for you.”

 

           “Yeah I considered it…”

 

           “Consider it again.” Caitlyn pressed. She let the issue hang for a minute to give Lux a few minutes to think before Lux nodded.

 

           “I’ll have to talk to the rest of the team first. I don’t want to expose everyone without their consent.” Lux turned to look at Caitlyn, who was smiling.

 

           “Lux, you have the makings of a true leader. You seem to get when to ask your team, and when to make a unilateral decision. Just remember, that if they see you breaking, then they will break as well. At the same time, remember that you are all a team, and if you need help, don’t ever be afraid to ask for it.” Caitlyn looked seriously at the young Guardian expecting her to leave, but Lux instead sat back down. “Something else?”

 

           “Um…yes. I’ll talk to you about it after all of this.” Lux said quickly standing back up.

 

           “Probably a good idea. One big issue at a time, unless you have no choice.” Caitlyn also stood up and walked to the door, clearly seeing the conversation is over. Lux pulled her hood up and followed Caitlyn back through the station and eventually outside. Nasus was still waiting where he parked previously and Lux climbed into the back.

 

           “Everything go well?” Nasus asked as he pulled out and made a course back to the library.

 

           “Well she wanted to cancel the concert.” Lux replied almost absently as she looked out the window.

 

           “Not surprising. I mean the odds of attack are extremely high.” Nasus looked into the rearview mirror for a brief second to see Lux still staring out the window.

 

           “Yeah, but she decided that with that option gone, she decided to go with an evacuation plan rather than a protection plan. Honestly, that’s better for us as it might allow us to transform without too many eyes and with people leaving, unless they blockade every entrance, unlikely, many will get away.” Lux turned to look at the front as Nasus looked into the rearview again.

 

           “A sound plan then. Hopefully nothing will happen, but should something, good luck.” Nasus looked again into the rearview and saw Lux was still being bothered by something. “Was there something else she mentioned?”

 

           Lux took a minute to sort her thoughts before she turned forward again. “Yes. She recommended I tell Garen about me and the others. I mentioned that I considered it, but she said consider it again. I’m nervous about it. I mean, him knowing could have some advantages, but it would also put him in danger. Danger I might not be able to protect him from.” Lux turned to face out the window again as the car came to a stop at a light. Nasus thought for a few minutes before he looked back and saw Lux’s posture unchanged.

 

           “I can understand your hesitation, but she does have a point. Also, you are unlikely to keep it from him for long based on what I’ve been hearing. However, if you are still unsure, maybe you should ask the rest of the team and get their opinions because clearly you can’t make a decision right now.” Nasus looked back to see Lux settle back into the seat and he smiled. He knew that Lux was at least going to ask the team, but it was still something she was going to be uncomfortable with. “Just remember one thing,” Nasus paused as Lux looked up, “the hardest questions are often the right ones that need to be asked.”

 

           Lux smiled at Nasus and felt a little relief wash over her. She knew that it would be an uncomfortable situation but the fact that it was something that needed to be asked was something to get out of the way now. Lux pulled out her phone and texted everyone.

 

           ‘I know we all said we’d meet up later, but can we meet at the tower. There is something we need to talk about.’ Lux waited for replies and everyone said they would be there. As Nasus pulled in and stopped, Lux got out.

 

           “Thanks again.”

 

           “No problem. If it means I can get away from the library for a bit, then I’m happy to do it. It can get really boring here at times.” Lux just smiled as Nasus chucked to himself and she headed to the tower. As she entered, Lux clearly saw she woke up a few of them up. Janna, who usually had her hair flowing, instead had it in a ponytail and she wasn’t the only one. Jinx was also missing her signature pigtails and her blue hair was likewise in a long ponytail and she was struggling to stay wake. Shiro was bouncing off her head from time to time to assist with that. Poppy was awake, and so was Lulu as both were talking, but stopped when Lux entered the room.

 

           “Sorry to call you all, but there are two things that I really needed to talk about. I just got back from meeting with Caitlyn about tonight. They are going with an evacuation plan rather than a containment plan. Basically they are going to try and get as many people out as quickly as possible.”

 

           “Seems right. After all, the fights devolve to chaos pretty quickly.” Janna said, her voice clearly still in bed.

 

           “But that’s not it. There is something else…” Lux’s voice caught in her throat and everyone turned to her.

 

           “So what’s the issue?” Poppy asked.

 

           “I know we all talked, or more like acknowledged that we can’t tell our family members about what we are doing and what is going on.” Lux was struggling to keep her voice neutral but she could feel her pulse in her neck as she fought to keep her voice calm.

 

           “Yeah it was for their protection as well as ours. The more people know, the harder that it is to keep everyone safe. Why?” Janna’s voice went from confident to weary in a few words.

 

           “Well…” Lux paused for a second before she gathered her thoughts. Then taking a deep breath, she said what she’s been bottling up for a while now.

 

“It’s just that Garen is getting more forceful in his inquiries. He’s starting to ask specific questions and while he may not be the brightest bulb in the box at times, he can put 2 and 2 together. I doubt I can keep it from him much longer. Also, Caitlyn suggested it, even pushed for it after I mentioned that I had considered it. Her words were ‘consider it again’.”

 

           Lux let the last sentence hang while the room went quiet. When someone finally spoke, it wasn’t who everyone expected. “Well, I think having someone like that might be a good thing. Especially, if he is going to keep going after it. He might put himself into danger or worse if he keeps going like you say he is.” Even Jinx’s voice betrayed her as she sounded surprised with what she said. That coupled with the look on her face as Lux turned to look at her. The room was dead quiet again as everyone started thinking.

 

           “OK. Let’s ask the obvious question. Lux, do you think Garen will go to those lengths to find out what is going on?” Janna’s voice was calming, but also betrayed her concern over the larger issue at hand. Lux sat down at the table and put her head in her hands, thinking. Eventually she came to the answer that she already knew.

 

           “Yes. I think he will. I don’t think he’s at that point yet, but it won’t be much longer.”

 

           “Then the answer is obvious isn’t it?” Lulu asked and everyone just went silent. “Sometimes the best answer isn’t the easiest one.” Once again, Lulu spoke with words that were well beyond her years, or that anyone could have thought would come out of her mouth. Lulu however, just sat back like she knew exactly what she was talking about. Which was also the truth. The right path, isn’t always the easiest one.

 

           “True. If anyone objects, say so now.” Poppy said. The silence was indicative of everyone’s answer. No one, not even Lux, liked it, but the risk was worth the rewards. Also, they all knew that telling their parents was out of the question. That would lead to a gigantic black hole of problems. “Well, that made it definitive. Go and tell him.”

 

           “Ok.” Lux watched as everyone got up and left the room, then sat back in her chair and turned to Dorcha and Solas. “Opinions?” Dorcha and Solas looked at each other and then at Lux.

 

           “Well you were right. The more people know, the bigger danger that we are all. Also, as you pointed out it would put him in more danger.” Dorcha started pacing back and forth, while Solas just shook his head.

 

           “Of course that means that Malzahar would have to figure out that in the first place.” Dorcha stopped and looked at her partner.

 

           “That’s a good point. I mean, who would they figure that out unless he made it obvious, and something tells me that would be harder than we all think.” Dorcha said as she looked between Lux and Solas still nodding her approval.

 

           “Ok then. It’s settled.” Lux sat back in her chair and then nodded her head. She then decided to walk home instead of using the pen since she could walk and think while she did it. The walk itself was a bit long, but it allowed Lux to sort her thoughts, but there was only one problem. Apparently Garen had run off to spend the time before the concert with friends and he left well before Lux was even back at the tower according to their mother. Lux cursed a bit under her breath but still headed back to her room before she decided to just play a few games to destress before the concert.

 

 

           As evening approached, Malzahar watched carefully as people filled into the stadium. He saw just a wealth of energy they could collect and use, but he also took note of the increased security measures. The police were everywhere, and Malzahar saw more than one anti-void weapon.

 

           “To think that this will be easy is a lie. We will have to be careful and…”

 

           “You to not interfere.” Cho’Gath quickly reminded him as he turned to Malzahar.

 

           “I know. I will direct the Zzs and collect the energy once you pass it through. Still why should I stay here?” Malzahar’s voice conveyed his annoyance but even as powerful as he was, able to best Cho’Gath in a fight if necessary, he still hung his head as he formed his own answer. “Alright I get it.”

 

           “Exactly. Now you do something that you do well, which is organize and lead. In the midst of a fight, you lose focus. Just do what you do and we will do what we do.” Malzahar nodded and followed Cho’Gath into the planning room where Kha’Zix, Rek’Sai and Kog’Maw were waiting.

 

           “…just cause chaos?” Kog’Maw asked and Rek’Sai nodded. “I can do that!” Kog’Maw grabbed a snack with his tongue and chomped down. Malzahar and Cho’Gath just shook their heads.

 

           “People have begun to arrive at the concert. Now we wait.” Rek’Sai nodded and everyone looked around and waited for the right moment.

* * *

 

           “I’m glad I’m not in the traffic division.” Lux and Garen rolled their eyes at their father as he said it for the 5th time. Looking around though, he was right to keep saying it. There was probably every police officer in the city, and surrounding area around trying to keep order and direct traffic. Lux had suggested they walk to the stadium, and Garen backed her up, and after their father called into the station, decided it would be best to walk after all since cars were becoming a problem.

 

           Garen quickly spotted Jayce and they immediately detached to hang out with their friends. “Just keep your phone on Garen.”

 

           “Yes Mom.” Garen yelled as he ran off. Lux looked at her mother as she shook her head. Lux kept close to her parents while looking for Jinx’s signature hair but it was a sea of chaos as there were a variety of hair colors everywhere. Lux caught sight of Janna and Poppy before she caught sight of Jinx but still couldn’t find her. A tap on her shoulder however sent Lux into the air. Spinning, she saw Jinx, barely containing her laughter. Dorcha and Solas popped out of Jinx’s bag to see what was going on.

 

           “Funny.” Lux put her hands on her hips and was also barely containing her laughter. Jinx had her hands over her mouth and after a few seconds, they both just started laughing. Realizing what was going on, Lux turned around again to look at her extremely confused parents who were looking at Jinx like “this is her friend?”. “Um…Mom, Dad, this is Jinx. We met at school and well we just sort of found things in common.” Jinx, following Lux’s lead, just nodded her head.

 

           “Well, pleased to meet you.” Mr. Crownguard extended his hand and Jinx shook it. Clearly her mother was too confused to say anything until she was nudged by her husband. Jinx just laughed which seemed to defuse the tension and took Mrs. Crownguard’s hand when she offered it. “Just be careful you two.” Lux nodded and waved at her father as she and Jinx ran off to meet up with Janna and Poppy.

 

           “Your parents are weird.” Jinx said as Lux rolled her eyes and was shaking her head.

 

           “Yeah they can be. That was just so embarrassing. I can’t believe that she just stood there like that.” Lux just couldn’t look up and Jinx had to pull Lux out of the way before she collided with a pole. “Thanks.” Lux muttered as she finally looked up.

 

           “Don’t mention it. But at least your parents are around. Mine are never home. It’s just me, Shrio, and Kuro.” Lux looked at Jinx, who’s mood had clearly fallen at the mention of it.

 

           “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring that up.” Lux put her arm around Jinx’s shoulder and Jinx turned her head and smiled.  


           “I’m used to it but it is nice to see that every family isn’t like mine.” Lux just looked confused. “Come on, it’s a concert and if we are lucky, maybe we get to blow something up.” Jinx laughed and sprinted towards where Janna, Poppy, and Lulu, who had joined them, were waiting. Lux smiled, shook her head and took off after her.

 

           “About time, we were just about to come looking for you.” Poppy said as Lux and Jinx finally joined them.

 

           “Funny.” Lux said and just glared at Poppy, who returned the glare, but they both broke down laughing after a few seconds. “Come on, let’s go in and find a decent seat. One we were can get out quickly if we need to. That is…if we even get in.” Lux added when they saw the line. They all sighed and joined the queue waiting to get in.

 

           The process to get in made them even more frustrated as they were searching everything and anything. All five of them had their bags searched but eventually they got in. Jinx sprinted ahead into the arena itself to try and find good seats. Poppy and Lulu broke off to get snacks and drinks while Lux and Janna walked around the area to find places to transform discreetly but given the area, it would be difficult.

 

           “Getting to a private place isn’t going to be easy.” Janna said as they walked around.

 

           “Yeah, especially if people keep going in and out. I mean come on, you know the only reason parents are here is because of their kids. Mine included. Hopefully we can slip away if something happens.”

 

           “More like, when something happens.” Janna reminded Lux, who just hung her head in defeat. Nodding after a few seconds. “We both know that something like this won’t go unnoticed and we don’t find somewhere out of the way, then we are done for in more ways than one.” They both rounded the corner into another part of the stadium and saw Poppy and Lulu in a long line for concessions. Not wanting to wait in the same line, they made a right and into the main part of the stadium.

 

           It wasn’t hard to spot Jinx. For once, her electric blue hair stood out against the crowd, which seemed to favor greens, pinks, and reds. Lux and Janna quickly made their way over and had to suppress their laughter. Jinx had used her long pigtails to save five seats, two on either side of her. Jinx smiled as Lux and Janna sat down and they waited for Poppy and Lulu, who were just a few minutes later with, well everything. Lux was just surprised they were able to carry everything. After they distributed snacks, they kept a careful eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Which quickly switched to anything void related.

 

           As the stadium slowly filled, it was clear that kids and adults had clearly expectations for this concert. Kids were in the lower areas, and adults were near their kids, looking annoyed, or in the upper deck keeping a careful eye out. Lux looked around and saw police, whether or not in uniform, scattered around. Knowing that if something were to happen, things would happen fast, and it would get very ugly fast. Still, that wasn’t a reason to at least try and enjoy themselves. At least until things blew up in their faces.

 

           Lux didn’t have much time to dwell on such issues as the concert started ramping up. Sighing, she just decided to sit down and enjoy it, even if it was just listening to the music. She let Dorcha and Solas out of her bag to make sure when things did hit the fan, they wouldn’t get crushed.

* * *

 

           Malzahar watched as the concert from a portal that was barely open, waiting for the right moment to strike. It wasn’t going to be easy. Wait too long, and people would start to leave. Not long enough and people wouldn’t be involved enough to not react immediately to the invasion. Everyone was waiting for the right moment, and it would have to be just right.

 

           “It is now a waiting game guardians. Prepare for your demise.”

* * *

 

           As the first intermission came to an end, everyone started walking around and getting things. Food and drinks mostly. Lux, Poppy, and Jinx decided to get refreshments this time, while Janna and Lulu saved their seats. The lines were long and it took them standing in 3 different lines to get everything. As they settled down for the second group, Lux started to get uneasy. Clearly everyone was starting to comfortable and that always lead to bad things.

 

           “I’m going to the bathroom.” Jinx said as she quickly got up and left while the rest of them enjoyed themselves. Even Lux was starting to relax, and that is when it happened. Lux was looking up when she saw a large portal rip open above the stadium. Immediately people started to panic and after taking one look around, Lux, Janna, Poppy, and Lulu knew that getting away to transform would be next to impossible.

 

           “Everyone split up, find a place, and then fight back.” The four split up and immediately began running into the crowd trying to get to an isolated position.

 

           Jinx however, was already in an isolated position. She had just poked her head out of the bathroom and a shiver ran down her spine. “Seriously? Now. Uh…” Jinx ducked her head back inside and slammed the lock to make sure she wasn’t going to be disturbed. She pulled her pendant from her neck and Shrio and Kuro hoped off her shoulders.

 

           “Star Guardian Power Up!” Once Jinx’s feet touched the ground again, Shrio and Kuro floated to their usual positions. “Alright you two, let’s buy some time.” The two squeaked and Jinx smiled. Jinx threw the lock and rushed out and was immediately confronted by chaos as people were running every way. Jinx pushed her way through them, and for the most part the crowd parted ways as she finally managed to get into the stadium. She took a look around and managed to get a view on Janna, Poppy, and Lulu, but couldn’t see Lux.

 

           “Hey you!” Jinx said at no one in particular, but managed to get the attention of everyone. “Geeze someone got hit with an ugly stick.” Shiro transformed, and Jinx opened up on the Zzs, and anything else she could to try and buy time for the rest of the team. “Well let’s keep you away from all of that.” Jinx targeted the Zzs pouring out of Kog’Maw’s portal and Jinx saw Lulu and Poppy dive into a room as a crowd ran past them.

 

           Jinx turned her attention back to Kog’Maw and a few seconds later, Poppy and Lulu ran past her to deal with Kha’Zix and Rek’Sai, who were moving towards Jinx to try and drag her off Kog’Maw to allow him to collect energy. While they managed to head off Kha’Zix and Rek’Sai, Cho’Gath got through them and Jinx had to dodge out of the way and turned to face Cho’Gath. “Well, some pesky guardian has decided to interfere with our plans. Perhaps you need to be taken down.”

 

           “You can try.” Jinx smiled, switched to Kuro, and fired several rockets right into Cho’Gath’s face. As he charged Jinx braced for the impact of his claws, but they only hit air and Jinx turned to see Janna had managed to transform and join the fight. Nodding, she managed to get some shots off at Cho’Gath before they both had to dive out of the way again.

 

           A large energy blast hit Cho’Gath in side. Janna and Jinx turned to see Debonair running into the stadium and looking around he seemed confused. “Where’s the pink haired one who’s usually calling the shots?”

 

           “I think she’s still caught in the crowd. Can you deal with the worm?” Janna said as she threw a twister towards Kha’Zix to keep him off Lulu while throwing a shield at Jinx as Cho’Gath charged again. Debonair nodded and immediately shot off a few bolts at the Zzs who were collecting orbs. Kog’Maw jumped in front of the shots to absorb them and he then turned to Debonair.

 

           In a brief moment of calm Janna looked around and still couldn’t see their fifth member. ‘Lux! Come on! Where are you?!’

* * *

 

           Lulu once again threw a lance at both Kha’Zix and Rek’Sai forcing them both to dodge out of the way. Poppy took the opportunity to charge and slam Rek’Sai into come chairs before turning quickly and throwing her buckler at Kha’Zix, knocking him out of a jump before he jumped onto Lulu. For her part, Lulu had already sped herself up and out of the way. Lulu, seeing Rek’Sai recovering, threw another glittlerlance at her, making contact and keeping Rek’Sai pinned.

 

           Poppy, took a swing at Kha’Zix, who managed to dodge the attack, but only to land in an awkward position, in which Lulu transformed Kha’Zix into yet another small animal and he hopped around while Rek’Sai jumped and attempted to hit both Poppy and Lulu, but only ended up hitting air as they both spun out of the way leaving Rek’Sai to hit only air and then the wall.

 

           Poppy added injury to injury as she charged and pinned Rek’Sai into the wall, while Lulu shot a glittlerance at Kha’Zix, who had regained his form. Kha’Zix, unable to see it, took it full in the face. Roaring with pain and anger, Kha’Zix lashed out blindly, only to knock Rek’Sai into a nearby set of chairs, and her tail took him with her by accident.

 

           Laughing a bit, the two quickly recovered and they changed course to force Poppy and Lulu apart. Only to have them go back to back as Rek’Sai and Kha’Zix prepared for another attack.

 

           “Well. It seems that we have a problem.” Poppy said.

 

           “Everything will work out.” Lulu replied smiling. Poppy nodded and they readied themselves.

* * *

 

           With the rest of the team fighting, Lux, growing frustrated, was not in a position to do anything. Not only did she get stuck in a large block of people, she literally ran into Garen, who wasn’t letting her out of his sight. This, despite repeated protests. “Garen would you let me go!”

 

           “If Dad, or worse Mom, found out that I let you go after finding you, they’d kill me. Now come on, we need to get out of here.” Garen tried to shove a few people out of the way, but Lux kept trying to find a way out, or at least somewhere to transform. Getting desperate, she eventually saw Dorcha and Solas bouncing on top of a sign. Lux saw this as her last opportunity. Lux carefully maneuvered Garen through the crowd and when she got close enough, she yanked Garen into the side room and slammed the door behind her.

 

           “Lux what is going on with you? You are secretive. You don’t talk to anyone. You ignore so much lately.”

 

           “You want to know what’s going on?” Lux had already pulled her locket out of her pocket.

 

           “You finally going to open up? You picked a really good time to talk about it.” Garen had his arms crossed over his chest. “I understand that you’ve been caught in a few of those fights and I’m sure that you have been affected…”

 

           “Not a few.” Lux interrupted Garen. Turning to look at him, Lux saw his face falling, and his arms relaxing.

                       

           “What do you mean not a few?” Garen’s face quickly changed to concern. “Have you been at every fight? Oh sis…” Garen moved to hug his sister, but she pushed him back. Garen took a step back, a bit shocked.

 

           “I’ve been in every fight. Every single one. Since the beginning. However, unlike everyone else who got trapped or stuck by the conflict,” Lux paused as she looked at the locket in her hand. “I was there by choice. My choice.” Lux gripped her locket more closely, as if it was the only thing holding together her courage at the moment. “And if I don’t get out there now, then even more bad things are going to happen.” Lux finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Oh enough of this. Some things are better shown.” Lux raised the locket. “Star Guardian Power Up!”

 

           When Lux’s feet, clad in her boots, hit the ground again, she turned to see Garen, who was clearly in shock. “I wish I had another way to tell you this, but time isn’t on our side. Don’t worry Garen, I’m still your sister. I just have a few new responsibilities. Now do me a favor and stay here please.” Garen just nodded and Lux threw the door open only to see Dorcha and Solas outside. “Keep an eye on him will you two.” They both nodded and Lux charged threw the crowds still running out and into the stadium proper.

 

           Quickly assessing the situation, Lux threw a barrier around Debonair and once her baton returned to her hand, she threw a singularity at the Zzs, hitting more than a few and getting Kog’Maw for her trouble. “About time you showed up. I was worried you would miss all the fun!” Jinx called to Lux and she turned Shrio against Cho’Gath, who roared with a little pain.

 

           “Oh I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Because if I did, then it wouldn’t be here.” Lux threw a binding at Cho’Gath while moving towards Kog’Maw and Debonair. Janna moved from covering Debonair and Jinx, to covering Jinx, who was closer and Lux was already charging towards Debonair and Kog’Maw. Seeing this, Cho’Gath tried to cut off Lux, but instead stepping right on Jinx’s traps and then getting a face full of her bullets for his trouble. Roaring, he stomped the ground to try and make it stop but Janna just shielded Jinx, who expertly slid out of the way, somehow managing to keep firing the entire time.

 

           Drawing closer to Debonair, who seemed to notice the shift, moved to help Lux close the gap between them more quickly. On the way, Lux looked and seeing an opportunity, she threw a singularity at Rek’Sai and Kha’Zix, who both had to dive out of the way as Poppy and Lulu took the opportunity to hit them as well. Poppy charged Rek’Sai, again pinning her into a wall, while Lulu threw a glittlerlance into Kha’Zix’s face as he landed. Lulu then transfigured Rek’Sai, while Poppy charged Kha’Zix, pinning him to the wall and then set him flying into the air with her hammer. Once she was back to normal, Rek’Sai tried to swipe at Poppy, only connecting with Lulu’s barrier and then her glitterlance as Lulu threw one into her face. Poppy then sent Rek’Sai into the air while Kha’Zix slammed to the floor with a crunch.

 

           “Oh that must have hurt. Here let me help.”

 

           Lux finally made her way to Debonair, who was taking pot shots at Kog’Maw and at the Zzs who were desperately trying to get orbs through a portal. Lux, seeing this, threw a barrier around Debonair and once her baton returned to her hand, threw a singularity at the Zzs, shattering orbs and getting a number of Zzs as well. Debonair switched his focus to Kog’Maw exclusively while Lux kept up the barriers and focused on the Zzs.

 

           Kog’Maw however was trying to draw as much attention as possible but it wasn’t working. Sure they had gotten enough, but more was always better. As Debonair moved to get a better angle, Kog’Maw saw an opportunity. He threw an acid bomb where Debonair was moving, and he had to dive to avoid it. Kog’Maw then charged Lux, who had let her attention lapse. Seeing this, Lux threw her binding, but missed, she then threw up her barrier to survive the assault. Kog’Maw unloaded on Lux’s barrier as he got closer, but just when he was about to knock Lux off her feet, he found himself flying across the stage they had been fighting on. Debonair had recovered by sliding and managed to get to Kog’Maw before he got to Lux, and showed him the business end of his hammer.

 

           “Thanks. Should we finish this?” Lux said as Debonair stopped next to her.

 

           “After you my lady.” Debonair said, smilling. Lux manged a slight giggle before she threw another singularity at the Zzs, hitting more them and shattering more orbs. The Zzs at this point, abandoned their efforts and fled. Kog’Maw getting up and seeing this, roared and charged Lux again, only to regret it again as Debonair first shot pules into his face, then Lux hit him with a binding.

 

           “Bye.” Lux taunted as Debonair swung his hammer, and Kog’Maw, not needing more hints, opened a portal and flew through it before he hit the wall. Again. Lux and Debonair quickly looked around, and still seeing two fights going on, split up. Lux set off to Poppy and Lulu, while Debonair joined Janna and Jinx.

* * *

 

           Cho’Gath took a quick look at the stage, and seeing Kog’Maw flying across it knew that their time was almost up. He threw spikes again at the two guardians fighing him, but they both dodged out of the way again. “You can’t dodge me forever. Sooner or later you will make a mistake.”

 

           “Of course we will. So we have a bet, how many times can I hit you before that happens.” Janna just shook her head as Jinx taunted Cho’Gath, but underneath the surface, she was resisting the strong urge to burst out laughing. Cho’Gath roared and tried to get Jinx again, she just dodged out of the way of his slashes and spikes. Cho’Gath then tried to go after Janna as she burned most of her defensive abilities on Jinx just a few seconds before.

 

           As he charged past Jinx, who just shot him in the side, Cho’Gath roared only to immediately regret it. Janna just charged up a twister and threw it right at Cho’Gath before diving out of the way. Cho’Gath had zero time to react and once he hit the ground again, he was hit in the side. Roaring but getting nothing, he turned to see Debonair charging into the fight and him unloading as he approached. Jinx, seeing what was going on, took the opportunity to circle around and fire from the other side.

 

           The three of them kept it up for a while until Cho’Gath was knocked into the wall by Rek’Sai and Kog’Maw. They turned to see Poppy just smiling while Lux and Lulu were trying hard not to laugh.

* * *

 

           Poppy and Lulu were managing to keep Kha’Zix and Rek’Sai occupied as they moved around and dodged their attacked. Poppy charging and swinging, while providing her own barrier at times. Lulu giving Poppy speed, or herself, while Pix jumped all around, hurting Kha’Zix and Rek’Sai, and giving barriers to Poppy and Lulu. She also threw a glitterlance at every opportunity. However, Poppy missed something and tripped on a discarded drink on the ground. Lulu wasn’t in a position to help and Rek’Sai made sure of that by charging Lulu, forcing her to defend herself. Poppy, seeing this, braced for the impact, but as Kha’Zix pounced, he suddenly bounced off, roaring in pain.

 

           Poppy, opening her eyes, turned to Lux sprinting towards them, Poppy hit the ground again as a binding flew out of Lux’s baton and hit Kha’Zix squarely. Poppy, then jumped up and charging, connecting hard with Kha’Zix and sending him flying. Poppy and Lux charged on where Lulu was dodging around Rek’Sai but was clearly not making headway. Rek’Sai charged again, only to be hit by Poppy as she charged again, slamming Rek’Sai into the nearby wall. Lux and Lulu moved behind Poppy and as Poppy drew the attention of both their opponents, Lux used bindings and singularities to control where they could land, if at all.

 

           Eventually Kha’Zix and Rek’Sai grew frustrated and both dove direcly at Lux, who threw up a barrier to absorb the attack. “Oh no you don’t.” Poppy spun her hammer and brought it down. Kha’Zix and Rek’Sai, clearly not expecting that, found themselves flying across the arena, and then slamming into Cho’Gath, knocking all three of them into a nearby wall. Poppy just smiled at her work while Lux and Lulu were bent double trying to not laugh.

 

           Recovering quickly, the team reunited and as Cho’Gath, Rek’Sai, and Kha’Zix were picking themselves up, they got hit with another singularity from Lux, while Janna sent them into the air again. When the three came crashing down again, it was clear their time was up.

 

           “You haven’t seen the last of us guardians.” Cho’Gath roared as Kha’Zix ripped open a portal and the three dived through it. Once they were sure the portal was closed, the six of them collapsed against the nearby wall and took a few well deserved deep breaths. Lux turned to Jinx and just nodded, while Jinx smiled back as Shiro and Kuro settled on Jinx’s shoulders. Debonair stood up a moment later and turned to the team.

 

           “Well that was exciting, but I think I will be going. Good luck.” He said, and quickly vanished.

 

           “Anyone want to chase him?” Poppy asked, clearly not wanting to herself.

 

           “Janna does.” Jinx said and barely managed to duck from Janna swinging her staff at her. But they were all laughing and were still when they saw police teams move into the area proper. Caitlyn was among them and immediately was looking around and saw the team collapsed against a wall. Smiling she called into her radio and as the teams left, she made her way up and found the team still on the floor.

 

           “Well I’m sure that was a fight.” She said as she got within earshot. Everyone just nodded.

 

           “You could say that. It certainly wasn’t easy.” Lux said as she looked around. “How bad is it?”

 

           “Not as bad as it would have been if we didn’t have a plan in place. Still, you all managed to prevent a chaotic situation from spiraling out of control. Be proud of that. Now get out of here.” Caitlyn smiled as she helped Lux to her feet, but paused as Lux leaned in.

 

           “I just have to get someone.” Caitlyn smiled at Lux and nodded. Lux turned to the rest of the team and she retraced her steps to where she had left Garen.

 

           “Um Lux, where are we going?” Janna asked as they neared the room.

 

           “Just getting my brother. He knows. I kind of had to transform in front of him considering he wouldn’t let me go. He has a vice grip when he needs to. It was the best I could do.” The rest of the team nodded and they opened the door and went inside. Garen, for his part, had stayed put and was sitting at one of the small tables inside with Dorcha and Solas on the table in front of him.

 

           “Is it over?” Garen asked as the team entered. Lux powered down but the rest of the team didn’t.

 

           “For now, yes.” Lux waved at the rest of the team who took their que and left. With Janna having to drag Jinx as she tried to double back. Lux made sure they were gone before she sat down too.

 

           “Have these two been explaining things?” Lux asked as she looked at Dorcha and Solas.

 

           “Yes they have. I’m sorry that I was…” Lux just cut him off with a smile.

 

           “You didn’t know. And it was supposed to stay that way, but you forced my hand today. Now can you keep a secret?” Lux looked at Garen more seriously than she ever had in her life.

 

           “Of course I can. Come here sis.” Garen stood up and reached out and Lux didn’t need a hint. They hugged as the door opened and Caitlyn stood in the door.

 

           “The area is clear now you two. Nice job finding some place out of the way.” Caitlyn paused to see how’d they react and she quickly picked up on what was going on. “Anyway your parents are worried sick about you two. They are at Gate 3. Get going.” Lux and Garen nodded as they quickly made their way to the gate, only to get immediately pulled into the arms of their parents.

 

           “I can’t breathe.” They both said together as their parents finally let go.

 

           “I’m starting to wonder if there is anything that we can do to stop these attacks. They are getting more frequent. Surely there has to be something we can do?” Lux looked at her father as he looked around at all of the chaos. Lux just stayed silent. “But I guess things could be worse. Now I doubt I can get the two of you home without tying the two of you together and pulling you along?” Lux and Garen shook their heads.

 

           “As soon as you two check in on your friends, then come home. My day tomorrow is going to be chaos. Or not…” Lux turned to see her mother pulling out her phone. “Duty calls. If you two aren’t home before I get there, then you will regret it.” Lux and Garen just nodded while she walked off towards the hospital. She could keep her things together but when it came to her family she could lose it at times. But then attacks from another world and another dimension tend to do that to anyone.

 

           Lux turned to look at Garen and he nodded. “Go” he mouthed and Lux just nodded and slipped away. She quickly made her way to the tower were the rest of the team was, waiting for her. Vel’Koz and Nasus were waiting as well. Lux just smiled as she walked in, and the tension in the room broke.

 

           “Well that’s a relief.” Janna said as she leaned back into the chair. “At least he can keep a secret and we now have another option to get you out of things.” Lux just nodded as she sat down.

 

           “Now that you are all here, I figured I should share some information. The Nexus is almost ready. The day after tomorrow and we will be ready to go. What will happen there, I can’t be sure, but it will be a fight.” The team looked over and nodded.

 

           “I’ll get the summoners that morning and I will get them there. You all need to get there, but in the meantime I would recommend rest.”

 

           “Sounds good.” Jinx said through a yawn as she stretched. “I say we all go home and spend tomorrow getting as much rest as possible.” For once, no one wanted to argue with Jinx.

 

           “Well that sounds good. Get some rest everyone. We will discuss everything the morning of.” The team broke but Lux stayed behind a few minutes and after looking around, smiled. She knew that this would be the hardest fight yet. “Come get us Malzahar. We will be ready for you.”

* * *

 

           On the moon, Malzahar was pacing and looking back and forth. He knew that his team wasn’t good. “Creating a nexus to oppose them will take a lot of energy. We will have some reserve, but if this goes badly, then we can’t afford many mistakes. Now about our plan.” They all hovered over the map.

 

           “We will need everyone for this fight. I will be in the mid lane. Kha’Zix you are going to be in the jungle, getting stronger, but helping out when necessary. Cho’Gath you will go top. Rek’Sai, you will have to support Kog’Maw in the bottom lane. We…” Cho’Gath cut Malzahar off with a look.

 

           “I will go with Kog’Maw. Rek’Sai will go top. It isn’t the best, but it is better than nothing.” Malzahar looked back.

 

           “Are you sure that is wise?”

 

           “Is there a better option?” Cho’Gath looked around and Kha’Zix spoke up.

 

           ‘Switch me and Rek’Sai. I can go top while she goes around. She can surprise better than I can. Again, not the best, but it works. Barely.”

 

           “In what universe?” Malzahar shot back, but he couldn’t counter without getting into further problems.

 

           “You can always go with Kog’Maw.” Rek’Sai said, but instead of getting a lashing, Malzahar paused and floated back from the table.

 

           “A real possibility.” Malzahar floated back and forth for a bit while everyone turned over things in their heads. Eventually, Malzahar floated back.

 

           “I think we will have to adjust to the guardians. They have forced us to adapt to them, so it seems we will have to keep doing it. Not the best idea, but if anyone has a better idea?” Malzahar looked around as he finished and everyone shook their heads. “Well then, that’s what we have to work with. Now rest up. We will have to be ready.”

 

           As the room emptied, Malzahar looked at the planet and scowled. “Your move.”

* * *

 

           Lux was in her room and finally ready to get some sleep. She took one last look at the moon. “It all comes to this.”

 

           “I doubt we will be truly safe after this Lux.” Dorcha said as she joined her on the windowsill. Solas was still sleeping as they both looked back. Lux just sighed as she knew that Dorcha was probably right.

 

           “I know, but we will take many steps forward if we win. But if we lose…” Lux looked at the poro and Dorcha shared her concern. “it won’t be pretty.”

 

           “Then you won’t lose. Because you know you can’t.” Lux smiled and nodded. Somehow, she always knew what to say.

 

           “You’re right. We won’t lose.” Lux looked at the moon once more with determination and then settled down for the night.

 

           Around Runeterra, Janna was also looking at the moon once more before she turned in. Poppy worked a bit in her father’s forge before finally admitting she was too tired to continue. Lulu walked a bit in the forest behind her home to calm down before she finally came in and went to sleep. Jinx looked a picture of her family but quickly threw it on the floor and replaced it with another. A shot of the team they took before the concert. She smiled and for the first time, knew she had not only found a family, but true friends. Grabbing Shiro and Kuro, Jinx flung herself into bed and was asleep quickly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The die has been cast. The pieces are set. Just a bit longer until the battle begins. Stay tuned!
> 
> But first, there is still a bit of time. And that day, will seem like it takes forever. Or will it?


	34. Chapter 33 - The Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a single day remaining until they have to defend against everything that Malzahar can throw at them, the Guardians decide to take a day to get ready for the upcoming fight.

Chapter 33 – The Calm Before the Storm

 

            As morning dawned Lux seriously did not want to get out of bed. Her clock told her it wasn’t that late yet, it wasn’t midday, but at least the sun was behind the clouds. She just turned over and wanted to go back to sleep, but even she knew that sooner or later, there would be something to get up for. Careful to not disturb Solas, Dorcha had apparently already gotten up and left at some point, she carefully got out of bed. Lux made her way downstairs where it was clear someone was hungry. Lux just shook her head at Dorcha, who was carefully conning her parents out of breakfast.

 

            “Oh come here you little thing.” Lux carefully picked up Dorcha, who just shot her a ‘oh come on’ glance before Lux sat down and put Dorcha in her lap.

 

            “So that was some night?” Lux turned to her father who was clearly the one who drew the short straw.

 

            “Yeah, but we managed to get somewhere safe so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Still yeah, try and have some fun and get ambushed by those things. Again. It is seriously getting old.” Lux just leaned back in her chair looking like the typical teenager who as annoyed with everything.

 

            “I can imagine. But imagine what it is like for us. You can’t have fun, but we have to deal with everything that happens. And then the cleanup from those Star Guardians.” The tone of annoyance in her father’s voice made Lux turn and caused Dorcha to listen carefully.

 

            “What do you mean cleanup?” Lux picked her words and her tone of voice very carefully, making it look like she was curious.

 

            “Oh treating people, coordinating the cleanup of their aftermath, dealing with the traffic that is caused, getting people around the fight while it is happening, just things like that. Something people are constantly complaining about.” Lux was trying to keep her face neutral. “Still, I’d rather do that than deal with, whatever those things are.” Her father added after a brief pause. Lux internally breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m sure they would help if they could, but given the fact they seem exhausted after a fight, it is probably for the better.

 

            “I’d say the worst part is dealing with the shop owners who have their property damaged, or destroyed in some cases. Most are just grateful that they are alive or not on a stretcher somewhere recovering from having their energy drained. The rest are just nothing more than a pain the…butt.” Lux and her mother smiled as her father clearly wanted to say something else. “Still the usual thing to say is ‘sir or ma’am, would you rather have had your energy drained, and lying on the ground for who knows how long, or deal with this?’ That usually makes them be quiet.” Lux let out a giggle at that, but was more nerves. She knew that they really needed to reduce their collateral damage.

 

            At that point, Garen walked down the stairs and took his seat and started eating. “So how are you this morning?” Garen turned to his mother.

 

            “Fine. Just shaken up a bit.” Garen took a small plate of food and started eating. Which was something he always did when he had a stressful day. Lux just smiled and shook her head. The added weight of what she told him the previous night was also probably weighing on him. “I’m going to head to Jayce’s today, if that’s ok?” Garen looked up at his parents and they both nodded. “Thanks!” His voice lifted a bit as he continued eating. Lux took that as a queue and began eating breakfast as well.

 

            After breakfast, Garen headed back to his room, and Lux was debating on telling him what was going on, but it was what going on tomorrow, with both of their parents home, it seemed she didn’t have much choice. Lux put her plate in the sink and then headed up to see Garen, who she really didn’t have time to talk to since that stunning revelation last night. She knocked on his door and took a deep breath. Garen opened the door a few seconds later. “I assume you want to talk?” He asked, and Lux nodded. Garen stood back and let her in. Lux took a seat at his desk, Garen closed the door and then turned on his TV to provide some background noise, then took a seat at the other chair in the room.

 

            “So I know I told you a bombshell the other night…and I intended to do that in a…not so dramatic way.” Lux started trying to smile.

 

            “You think?” Garen replied, his face stoic. Lux knew that this was going to be difficult. “I mean, that was one big thing to take in right there. I’m still processing it. To think that you are in those fights, doing those things, and well it’s hard.” Garen leaned back in his chair and Lux smiled a bit.

 

            “I know, but again this was my choice. Though I really didn’t have one. Still, it was my choice and I’ll live with it. I can’t undo what has been done, but we have grown so much since them. I’ve found something, apart from school, to fight for. I’m again so sorry for dropping that on you like that. I knew you were getting close and the team talked about doing it gently, but then you ran out so quickly yesterday before I could say anything.” Lux blushed, and so did Garen as she finished.

 

            “Sorry but…” Lux just shook her head.

 

            “Don’t do that. You didn’t know. So don’t start with the blaming yourself. However, there is a more serious issue that we need to talk about.” Garen nodded and sat back again as he had moved forward while Lux was talking. “Tomorrow I’m really going to need your help. I will be spending the day with friends; and while that is true, that isn’t exactly what we are going to be doing.”

 

            “I’m assuming you will be doing something dangerous.” It wasn’t a question. Lux nodded her head.

 

            “Yeah. You remember anything about what happened the last time when the last team was defeated?” Garen shook his head. Lux knew this would be a long conversation. “Well there’s a story you need to hear.”

* * *

 

            Janna refused to get out of bed that morning. Knowing full well what was coming the next day, she just ignored the sun until it was almost overhead. Sitting up, Janna looked at Zephyr, and he seemed to be in no hurry to get up either. Janna considered going to back to bed, but a knock on the door told her that it wasn’t going to happen.

 

            “Janna it is almost midday. You are not going to sleep all day today!” Janna just groaned at her mother and reluctantly got out of bed, mumbling the whole time. After finding a semi comfortable outfit, Janna walked down the stairs and into the main room of the house, where her parents were just looking at her. “Oh don’t give me that look.” Janna just continued to glare at her mother while walking into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Her father was barely containing his laughter.

* * *

 

            Lulu was already awake not long after the sun came up. Knowing the next day and its challenges, she spent the day wandering through the forest behind her home trying to relax. Being back in nature always brought calm to her and Pix, who was following Lulu as she wandered. Eventually, Lulu found one of her favorite trees, which sat near the edge of a small clearing with a small pond off to the side of it. Sitting down, Lulu looked up at the sky and then around, and seeing nothing, just smiled and leaned back against the trunk of the tree, took a deep breath, and just relaxed. Pix settled down by her side and promptly fell asleep.

 

            While Lulu didn’t fall asleep, she looked like it. Her eyes were closed, but she was listening to the forest around her. The gentle breeze blowing through the tree tops; small animals wandering across the forest floor, crunching leaves and undergrowth as they go; and then the silence that came and went. All of it provided Lulu with a sense of calm that rarely came any other way.

 

            A rustling of leaves caused Lulu to open her eyes and looking up, she saw an eagle above her, looking down at her. A brief moment of panic went through Lulu, but she saw the eagle wasn’t being hostile and even seemed to be looking for someone. “Uh, Valor, get over here.” Turning, Lulu saw a girl enter the clearing and the eagle flew to her, landing carefully on her outstretched arm. She then carefully stroked the head and neck of the eagle. The bird closed its eyes and leaned into the girl, clearly showing affection and a sense of trust.

 

            Lulu couldn’t take her eyes off the sight and the girl seemed to notice. “Don’t worry, he’s not going to hurt you.” She called out and Lulu got up from under the tree and carefully approached. The eagle looked at her carefully as she approached but the eyes were more cautious than they were threatening. “Valor would you calm down. It’s ok.” Lulu reached her hand out and carefully brushed the eagle’s wing. After a few seconds, the eagle closed its eyes as a sign of trust. “He’s always suspicious of new people. However, he’s really a big sweetie.” The girl carefully rubbed her hand under the eagle’s beak.

 

            “How does he trust you?” Lulu asked as she carefully withdrew her hand.

 

            “Well I found him injured and nursed him back to health. Then he wouldn’t leave and we’ve become friends…” she cut off as a tear appeared in her eye.

 

            “Sorry I didn’t mean...” Lulu started but the girl waved her hand.

 

            “It’s fine. Just a few really bad memories. I bring him out here when I can so that he isn’t confined to the city. I’m Quinn.” The girl held out her hand and Lulu shook it.

 

            “Lulu. It was nice to meet you.” They broke apart and Quinn carefully left the clearing with Valor. Lulu took a seat underneath the tree again and returned to her thoughts about the following day, and attempting to forget them.

* * *

 

            Not one to wake up early, Jinx looked around at her clock when she finally did wake up and immediately groaned. It wasn’t even noon and she was already awake. Carefully rolling over, she saw Shiro and Kuro happily sleeping near her. Smiling, Jinx carefully got herself out of bed and made sure to stay quiet while she went to the bathroom. When she got back, they were both still sleeping. “Ah, sleep well you two. Tomorrow we will be having fun.” Jinx carefully made her way out, closing the door behind her.

 

            Making her way downstairs, Jinx entered her kitchen and set about making herself an early lunch. However, the smell of it woke both small poros and when Jinx came back in from the grill, they were both sitting on the table looking at her. Jinx just laughed and got out two small bowls for them. “You two are just so demanding.” And with that, they all laughed. Jinx finished up cooking and they sat down to eat while she decided what she was going to do with the rest of her day, while ignoring what was coming tomorrow.

* * *

 

            As the sun rose over the horizon, it cast a light through the windows. Poppy quickly shut the blinds as she worked with her father on a commission for some plate armor. While nowhere near as good as him, Poppy had picked up a few things from him but it was still something she would take years to work on. Still, it was something they could work together on. Not to mention Poppy liked the heat of the forge, even on a warm summer day.

 

            “Would you two just put the tools down for an hour and come and have breakfast?” Poppy and her father turned to look at her mother, and she wasn’t in a good mood.

 

            “Ok dear. Poppy come on.” Poppy turned to her father and nodded and followed him back inside where they washed up and sat down for breakfast. The table was quiet as both of her parents looked at each other and Poppy knew where this was going, and she braced herself.

 

            “Poppy are you sure you are happy?” Her mother asked and Poppy knew what was the next question.

 

            “Of course. I have friends and while we may do some crazy things, I’m really happy.” Poppy took a deep breath and was ready for the next question.

 

            “Well that’s good. I’ve managed to get my position permanent here and your father seems to be happy. We were more concerned that you weren’t fitting in here. But if you are happy then we aren’t planning to move.” Poppy let out the breath she’d been holding.

 

            “That’s good darling.” Poppy turned to glare at her father. He knew she hated being called that. “Now can we eat breakfast like we used to?” The tension in the room was immediately broken and they started chatting about the normal things that were going on, while avoiding talk about the recent attacks. The expected conversation would have to wait, for another day.

* * *

 

            Garen sat across from Lux and just stared at her. After what seemed like forever, he finally found his voice.

 

            “Are you kidding me?” Lux just had to look at him. “That is what you…all of you…are going to be doing…that?” Lux just shook her head.

 

            “Yes. That is exactly what we are going to be doing. It isn’t easy, it isn’t safe, but if we don’t, then there won’t be a tomorrow for much longer. WE need to do this, and honestly I need your help.”

 

            “My help!” Lux jumped to quiet Garen, but he nodded. “How can I possibly help the five of you?”

 

            “Cover for me with mom and dad. I know I’m not coming back from this fight without scars.” Garen just had to raise an eyebrow. “You don’t think I’ve gotten hurt? I’ve just gotten better at hiding it.” Garen just keep the eyebrow almost in his hair. “Seriously makeup is wonderful, for all of us. I just wish I had more money for it.” Lux pulled her sleeve up her arm to her shoulder and showed Garen a friction burn from a recent fight where she slid across the ground.

 

            “Doesn’t that hurt?”

 

            “Well yes, but we have some way to heal it, but we all have scars and we will get more. Tomorrow is probably going to be just one fight where we will come out with a lot of scars. And probably the next day, I’m not going to want to do anything because we will all be recovering.” Lux laid the cards on the table and was hoping Garen would see what she ha. He just sat there for a while, looking around and clearly weighting the options in his mind.

 

            “Ok fine. I’ll help you, but on one condition. I go with you to see this fight. If you think for one second that I’m going to sit here and play that game with mom and dad, then you know I will lose. You know how mom gets, and I won’t be able to keep her at bay for long. Now I can go with you and with both of us out, she’ll just have to assume that we are where we say we are. Given how long you said this fight is going to last, you will need someone to cover you all day.”

 

            Lux ran through the options in her head, and realized that she couldn’t argue with him. “Ok fine. But there is a condition. You cannot interfere. You will be sitting on the sidelines. Am I clear?” Lux upped the tone of her voice with the last sentence. Garen thought that over, and eventually nodded.

 

            “Fine.”

 

            “Good. I’ll get you tomorrow morning and there will be specific things you will be doing. Don’t worry, none of them humiliating. We just need to take precautions.”

 

            “I understand.” Garen’s voice was hesitant, but he also knew that he had little to argue with. Also going to their parents was not even remotely an option.

 

            “Good. Now, I’m going to relax before tomorrow. I’m going for a walk.” Lux got up and exited Garen’s room, then down the stairs and out the front door. Lux then remembered her bag and she turned around. Before she even got half way around, she saw Dorcha and Solas on the side of the house with her bag and smiling.

 

            “We figured you’d want a walk.” Dorcha smiled as she spoke and Lux smiled back.

 

            “Hop on.” Lux squatted down and they both hopped on her shoulders after Lux put her bag on her shoulders. Then after, thinking, she just decided to walk and eventually she’d come to a destination. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the front gate and just started walking.

* * *

 

            Janna looked around her room and decided that as much as she didn’t want to admit it, her mother was right. She couldn’t stay in the house all day. Deciding that it was close to midday, she looked outside and decided to take a leaf from Lux’s book and go for a walk. Poking Zephyr and grabbing her bag, she moved towards the door.

 

            “Seriously, can we just sleep?” Zephyr said softly as he looked at Janna. Her face was a clear answer.

 

            “You’ve been sleeping all day. Now come on.” Janna looked at Zephyr and he eventually nodded.

 

            “Fine. But I’m not walking.” Zephyr sat defiantly on the bed, before he saw Janna’s outstretched arm. With his head down, he then jumped onto Janna’s arm and settled on her shoulder.

 

            “Satisfied?” Janna asked. The sarcasm in her voice was unmistakable. Zephyr knew that not responding was probably the best option, so he just nodded. “Good. Now let’s go.”

* * *

 

            Poppy looked around the forge and with most of the work done for the day, there wasn’t much that she could help with at the moment, she turned to her father, who was carefully examining the piece that she’d worked on. She stood silently and with so much apprehension.

 

            “Not up to my quality Poppy, but this is still remarkable work. You are getting better and better by the day.” Poppy let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. That was nothing more or less than high praise.

 

            “Thanks dad” and Poppy couldn’t resist running forward and giving him a hug, which he returned.

 

            “I wish you would spend more time in here with me, but I also know you have friends and I’m not going to interfere with that. Now there’s nothing more you can do here today. Go have some fun. Especially since you will be working on that project all day tomorrow.” Poppy smiled. She now knew what Lux said about the lies and how they just become normal after a while. It wasn’t that any of them wanted to lie, but it was for their family’s protection.

 

            “I will.” Poppy gave her dad another hug, then sprinted up to her room, threw on some more appropriate clothes, and headed out.

* * *

 

            Lulu had switched from walking around the woods to walking around the city. She was always amazed that the difference between the two, and yet, they were also very much the same. Each had its own order, its own rhythms, and its own way of flowing. Lulu eventually made her way to central park, which was once again undergoing repairs after the last attack. She looked carefully at the groundskeepers and while they all seemed to be a bit annoyed, they all seemed to be enjoying it nonetheless. This was made more obvious by the fact they were all covered in dirt, which was clearly from throwing it at each other.

 

            Looking around, Lulu just decided to spend a few minutes here while she enjoyed this area of calm in the center of what seemed like chaos.

* * *

 

            Jinx cleaned up from lunch and after seeing Shiro and Kuro clearly eat more than they should have, given the fact that Kuro was rolled over on his back and Shiro was nodding off, Jinx just had to laugh. That knocked them both back to reality.

 

            “I warned you two. Don’t overeat.” Shiro and Kuro just squeaked and stuck their tongues at Jinx, who replied in kind. After a few seconds, they were all laughing and Jinx headed back upstairs, and after changing, she came back downstairs after carefully affixing her pendant around her neck.

 

            She paused for a moment at the bottom of the stairs and touched it once again. At first, it was cold and felt heavy whenever she wore it. It had changed. It wasn’t heavy and cold anymore, it was warm and light and almost seemed to weigh nothing. Jinx smiled again and headed back into the kitchen where she grabbed her bag, let Shrio and Kuro hop in, and then left to head to arcade to try and blow off some steam.

* * *

 

            Lux’s adventure eventually took her into Central Park where after sitting down, she saw Lulu sitting on the other side. Looking up, Lulu waved and quickly jumped off the bench to join Lux. Pix however seemed to have been comfortable and was hurrying to catch up. Lulu hopped on the bench next to Lux and smiled.

 

            “It seems like a nice day doesn’t it?” Lulu turned to Lux, who just smiled.

 

            “Yeah. It almost makes you forget about tomorrow. Almost.” Lux leaned back and smiled as she turned to look at Lulu, who smiled back.

 

            “So instead of worrying about tomorrow, we enjoy this.” Lux gave a quick chuckle.

 

            “Yes. Let’s.” Both of them leaned back to allow themselves to relax with the sounds around them, but their stomachs weren’t exactly so kind. “How about lunch? Have you eaten?” Lux looked at Lulu, who shook her head.

 

            “Nope.” Her upbeat voice was always welcoming.

 

            “Then let’s get something to eat.” Lulu nodded and they both headed off towards one of their favorite restaurants.

* * *

 

            Janna’s adventure had taken her into the heart of the city and she was only just noticing the smells coming from the restaurants when her stomach was complaining. Zephyr chuckled at that.

 

            “Quiet you. Oh come on, let’s get something to eat then.” Janna made her way to one of the popular restaurants. It wasn’t crowded and after checking her phone, Janna saw that it was a dead spot in the lunch hour. Moving quickly, she placed her order and then after getting her table number, saw down at one of the only tables available. As she was pursuing her phone, looking at news stories when she saw a purple hair yordle walk in.

 

            Looking behind her, Janna saw Lux and caught her eye and waved her over. Lux nodded and after she and Lulu ordered, joined Janna. Dorcha, Solas, and Pix joined Zephyr under the table, hidden by Janna’s and now Lux’s bag. While most places didn’t permit animals, if they were small enough, and especially poros, they usually ignored them unless they were annoying or people complained.

 

            Just when they all got comfortable, Lux looked at the door and saw Poppy walking in. Poppy, seeing them, waved, placed her order, and arrived at the table, at the same time Janna’s order came out. All of them were just about to start enjoying themselves and relaxing before they all really got together that evening to plan out their following day, when a telltale blue haired individual walked past. Lux tapped on the glass and Jinx quickly turned around and walked in.

 

            “Come on Jinx, at least order something.”

 

            “Oh fine.” Jinx put her bag down, stuck her tongue out at Janna, and went and ordered a drink before sitting back down. As Lux, Lulu’s, and Poppy’s orders arrived, they all looked at Jinx. “I already had lunch. Those two pigged out.” Jinx said, as she finished pointing to Shrio and Kuro, who had joined the rest hidden by the three bags now.

 

            “Can I just say that we talk about tomorrow later? Can we just enjoy each other’s company and enjoy this day?” Lux looked around as she finished and everyone else nodded. The team spent an hour at the restaurant and just enjoyed it. They all knew what was coming, and they all knew what was going to happen, but it was nice to put it out of their minds, at least for a time.

 

            When they had all finished, they knew they couldn’t put of strategizing any longer. Also Vel’Koz was expecting them. So they all sighed and headed off to the library and after making their way to the tower they found Vel’Koz hovering over the table where they could project a map of the city and instead it was showing the area where they would be fighting.

 

            “Ah good, you are all here. I know you wanted to enjoy the day, but we do need to talk strategy.” The team took a seat around the table while Vel’Koz hovered over the side without the chairs. “So in ancient times, this battlefield was a five on five contest, much like the battle you are going to fight tomorrow. There were various ways over the years on how that battle was fought, but eventually most settled on a certain strategy. One in the top and middle lanes, two in the bottom lane, and one roaming in the forested areas between them helping as needed.

 

            “Now where you all are going to go is any question but you need to decide now. There are too many things that will happen to stay set to a strategy as the battle continues. Where you start is not where you will end. Please consider that. I’m going to basically explain how this works.

 

            “The purpose of the entire battle is to destroy the enemy nexus. The Nexuses are a collection of energy and when one explodes, the energy is released. If theirs explodes, we can capture the energy and use it to rebuild the barriers around our world. If it happens the other way around, then they will have a massive new source of energy to attack us with. There are layers of defenses that either side will have to break through. 3 turrets in each lane, two guarding the nexus, and inhibitor for each lane which protects the nexus turrets and the nexus itself. Only one inhibitor needs to fall to damage the nexus turrets and the nexus.

 

“In addition, the altar behind each nexus is a safe zone. Well mostly. A beam will come out from the statue against anyone not on that team. Minions too. The altar will also heal you all and regenerate your energy. During the fight, you can also recall to this altar to purchase new runes, regenerate health, and one other thing I’ll get to in a minute. Just don’t go on their altar, and you will be fine.

 

            “When the battle starts, you will have just a minute or so before the minions spawn. These are soulless creatures that are spawned just for this battle. They will die and that is it. That is their purpose. They however can help to push the lanes, damage turrets, and even inhibitors and the nexus. Each wave will consist of 3 melee minions and 3 caster minions. Every 3rd wave will have a cannon minion which will help in damaging those buildings. Destroying the enemy minions will accomplish 3 things. First they will help yours advance. Second they will give you gold.”

 

            “Wait what?” Jinx said, suddenly looking extremely excited and confused.

 

            “Yeah, what?” Lux was now very curious as well.

 

            “The gold is temporary. They will allow you to buy runes, they only last for the duration of the fight. I made sure of it!” Vel’Koz added quickly when they all turned to look at him. “I know what they did and I’m not eager to replicate it.” They all were still looking at him. “Back to the point, the runes will enhance your abilities. They are representative of the items that actually were used at one point. They will set into your weapons, Lux your baton, Janna your staff, Poppy your hammer, Lulu your staff, and Jinx on Shiro and Kuro when they transform.” Both of them squeaked at that. “Be careful however as you can only have 6 of them at any time. Possibly 5 as there are runes that will set into your boots to enhance your mobility.”

 

            “There is also 3 separate runes that will do 3 things. Give you a temporary ward to expand your sight; allow you to cast a ward deep into enemy territory; or sweep your area for invisible and enemy wards. These won’t count against the rest and will set into your gauntlets.

 

            “The third thing that destroying enemy minions does is give you experience points, which can enhance your abilities. The nature of the fight will lock your abilities out one by one and you have to unlock them as the fight progresses. The same applies to the enemies. So choose carefully.”

 

            “Finally, there is something that is unique about this fight. You can literally fight until you die.” Confused looks were everywhere. “Once the battle begins, an energy wraps around the field that prevents anyone from dying. You can fight until you can’t anymore, and if you do…um…”

 

            “Expire?” Janna offered and Vel’Koz nodded.

 

            “Expire, you will enter a state and the energy will regenerate you and you will…um…”

 

            “Respawn.” Everyone said together.

 

            “Respawn on the altar. It takes longer the longer the fight lasts, so try to avoid dying. Forcing an enemy into this…”

 

            “Oh just use video game terms already since that seems to be where we are going.” Jinx sat back in her chair with her arms across her chest in frustration. Vel’Koz looked around and everyone nodded in agreement.

 

            “Ok then. When you kill an enemy, you will get gold as well along with experience. That you can keep track of on a gauntlet that will attach to your own when the fight begins. You can also track the gold and it will also have a map on it. Modern tech can yes replicate it, but I don’t think the magics around the field have kept up with the times. Especially since it has been abandoned for centuries. So are there any questions?”

 

            Everyone just looked confused, but Jinx just leaned forward. “So let me try and summarize that. Yes, I can use big words. Basically, use minions in the lanes to push into the enemy base, killing enemy minions and possibly the enemies along the way. You earn gold and experience along the way to buy items, level up, and unlock new abilities. Once you get the inhibitors down, hammer the enemy nexus until it breaks. So TL:DR do everything possible while working together to destroy the enemy nexus.”

 

            Everyone just looked and Vel’Koz just looked shocked. He was on the ground if that was any indication. Eventually, after a few seconds, he started floating again. “Yes that is surprisingly accurate. Don’t forget the creatures that spawn in the forest will give gold and experience too. Also turrets and inhibitors being destroyed as well.”

 

            “So all the inhibitors to is prevent damage to the nexus and the turrets that guard it?” Janna asked looking at the map again.

 

            “Oh no. I forgot about that. Destroying the inhibitor in a lane will allow super minions to spawn. They are extremely durable and do a lot of damage. They can actually destroy the turrets on the nexus by themselves if left alone. If you manage to get all three inhibitors down at the same time, sorry yes they do regenerate, then two super minions spawn in each lane and will continue until the inhibitors regenerate.”

 

            “Ok then.” Lux said also looking over the map and nodded. “Lulu, you are going to go in the top by yourself.” Lulu nodded and smiled.

 

            “This will be fun.”

 

            “Just stay focused.” Lulu nodded to Lux. “Janna and Jinx, you will be in the bottom lane together. Jinx, do the damage, and Janna, keep her safe.” They both nodded but then looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

 

            “You two can at least have fun driving each other crazy.” Poppy said and they both just put their head down and chuckled.

 

            “Poppy, you will be in the forest. Level up and get experience, but help when you need to.” Poppy nodded and smiled.

 

            “This is going to be fun.”

 

            “I’ll be in the mid lane. Hopefully we won’t die much, because I’m sure that is going to be painful.”

 

            “I suggest you all get some sleep and enjoy the rest of the day because tomorrow is going to be a very busy day.” Vel’Koz started to float out when Lux suddenly sprung up and cut Vel’Koz off.

 

            “Is there any way we can get that big screen TV and watch a movie, or several?”

 

            “I’ll see to it. Just go pick the movies and get them here. I’ll order some pizza.” A chorus of cheers broke out as everyone got comfortable. Lux and Jinx headed into the library to get some movies while Janna, Poppy, and Lulu moved the furniture around to make room. Janna looked around as the door opened and Nasus appeared with the TV and Janna went to help with the cart it was on. Lux and Jinx returned a few minutes later and Lux went to Nasus.

 

            “How will you explain the movies missing?”

 

            “In the workroom.” Nasus said, desperately trying to contain a grin.

 

            “Ok then.”

 

            “Don’t worry about it. Relax for the day and get ready for tomorrow.” Nasus smiled as he left and they started the first movie. Between that one and the second, Vel’Koz brought in the pizza and they made the decision together that they would sleep here to keep their minds in the game. They all called their parents with different stories but Lux went to Garen first.

 

            “Are you coming home or do I need to make up a story?” Garen asked as he picked up Lux’s call.

 

            “We are sleeping in our headquarters. We’ll get you tomorrow morning. Just be outside tomorrow morning before sun up. Around 5. I’ll deal with mom and dad. Officially, I’m staying at Jinx’s house.”

 

            “Ok then. I’ll hold you to it.” Garen hung up and Lux called her parents with the story. They weren’t happy at the last minute change of plans, but there are little they could do given the fact she was working on a “project” the next day. Lux did get read a small portion of the riot act for her trouble however. Once they had completed 4 movies, they all decided to go to bed since the next day would test everything.

* * *

 

                Malzahar looked over what Vel’Koz had done and he was both impressed and disgusted. He took an old battlefield and made it useful for them. He was also taking a great risk because if they won the fight, it would give them all the energy they would need to reopen the portal. Malzahar looked over the map again and decided that he would probably have to alter his plan based on what the guardians did. They had a better team for the battle and while they may not realize that, he did and that helped them. However the fact they would have to adapt to their strategy to the guardians, put them right back at a disadvantage.

 

            Malzahar looked back at the map and decided that Kog’Maw and Cho’Gath would go in the bottom lane, he would be in the middle, Rek’Sai would prowl around the jungle, and Kha’Zix would go top. It wasn’t ideal, but their team wasn’t built for this. The strategy would be good, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it at this point. The nexuses had way too much energy to him to ignore and if they didn’t mount a defense, or offense, then they only thing that would happen is the guardians would take their time to break the turrets and claim the energy to rebuild their barrier system the way they wanted it.

 

            “Curse those annoying guardians. Curse Vel’Koz. Curse everything!” Malzahar roared as he knocked a few objects aside and raged. No one, not even Cho’Gath dared to enter the throne room while he was doing this. There wasn’t anything in there that would be missed if destroyed. After a few minutes of rage, Malzahar calmed down and decided that resting before the fight would probably be in his best interests. Floating through the side door to his chambers, he looked out the window at Runeterra and then closed the curtains to hide the planet which was causing him so much pain.

 

            Just when Malzahar was about to drift off, he knew it could be a lot worse. Because of Runeterra’s isolated position, and their own Magical barriers, prevented them from contact the first star, and other star guardian teams. If they only knew, then there would be hundreds of guardians here and they would have precious few things to do. They were barely surviving before they got here, and they were still doing that now they were back to their original breach point.

 

            “Well inexperience against experience is always a positive. Just because you are powerful doesn’t mean you can do everything.” Malzahar allowed himself to grin before he drifted off.

* * *

 

            It was almost if Lux was thinking similar thoughts as Malzahar. She knew that their magical barriers kept them isolated, but also offered them protection. Sitting up, Lux could barely close her eyes before something forced them back open. She kept running through everything in her head, and it always kept going from bad to worse. She kept thinking if the worst were to happen, then they might never win. Their entire battle rested on the actions tomorrow and she couldn’t sleep.

 

            Getting up, Lux crept out of her room and she checked in on the rest of her team. Janna was sound sleep, with Zephyr at the foot of her bed. Poppy was asleep as well, if her snoring was any indication. Lulu clearly talked to herself as she slept as she was not even bothered by the door opening. Pix was asleep right next to her. When Lux checked on Jinx, she was clearly out. She was almost wrapped in a cocoon of her blankets, with Shiro and Kuro next to her. Lux closed Jinx’s door and headed down to the kitchen.

 

            “I was wondering how long you would be” came a voice. Lux finished walking down to see Vel’Koz floating there. “You are rather predictable” he said as he turned to her.

 

            “I hope that isn’t a bad thing.” Lux replied sleepily as she took a seat at the island.

 

            “Usually yes, but today no. I know you have a problem sleeping before big fights like this so I managed to whip something up. Using some void energy, this will not only knock you out, but give you pleasant dreams. Take it or leave it, but you do need to sleep.” Vel’Koz left the powder on the island and floated towards the door. “It works good if you mix it with water.” He said as he floated out, closing the door behind him.

 

            Lux thought about it for a few minutes before she realized that he wouldn’t be trying to do anything to sabotage them at this point given the opportunities he’s had. Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, she put the powder in the bottom, then after running the water for a second, she filled the glass, mixed everything together, and then drank the entire glass in a few gulps.

 

            The effect was almost immediate. She felt sleep calling her so Lux walked back up to her room, and after being careful to avoid waking Dorcha or Solas, but at least one of them had to wake up when she left, she crawled back into bed and was asleep almost immediately. It was a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 

            As the sun had yet to rise, it was still cold, but it was an unnatural cold. Garen could tell that before he even crawled out of bed. He had told his parents that he would be going for a morning run before the sun came up and then heading to Jayce’s for the day. He packed his bag and was out the door just before 5 as Lux had told him. He looked around for anyone, but the street was quiet. Just when turned his head again, a long car pulled up and stopped next to him. It was curious as it made almost no noise. One of the rear windows rolled down.

 

            “Step inside Garen. We need to move quickly.” Vel’Koz said as he opened the door. Garen didn’t need to be told again. He climbed in and Nasus quickly drove away. Vel’Koz then turned to Garen. “Know that the information you will be exposed to will be limited. Both for your protection and for the protection of the team. While you are at the library, you will be my guest, but don’t go looking into places that you shouldn’t. Do you understand?”

 

            All Garen could do is nod in response to that. He knew that Lux wasn’t going to do anything stupid, or let him see anything to expose anyone or anything. Still, if he was going to watch something, then the least he could do was follow their rules.

 

            The trip to the library took almost no time at all. Vel’Koz led Garen into his lab beneath the library and told him that he can spend time here until they are ready to leave in a few hours. Garen took the time to get some more sleep.

 

            As the sun started to creep over the horizon, in the tower, the team was finally starting to drag themselves out of bed. Lux was the last up thanks to Vel’Koz and when she arrived in the kitchen, everyone except Jinx was there. Janna motioned to the table to give Lux a chance to sit down while she, Nasus, and Poppy finished cooking. Jinx came down a few minutes later, and after seeing there was no way for her to help, joined Lux and Lulu at the table. Once the three had carried over the plates and dishes from cooking breakfast, Vel’Koz popped in to grab a few things for Garen. Lux loaded the plate with what she knew were his favorites and the team and Nasus finished the rest.

 

            The plan was for them to drive to the field and enter the summoning chamber in about 2 hours. Once they were inside, it would open the other one for Malzahar and his ilk for a period of time. This was also where Vel’Koz, Nasus, and Garen would watch the fight via a magic portal, which was also augmented with modern tech. Nasus told the team to relax and he’d clean up, but apart from what was used to cook, everything was pretty much cleaned up as the team put their own plates and things in the dishwasher.

 

            Each team member decided to spend the time in their own way. Lux stared at the map of the battlefield again to make sure that she was confident in her decisions. Everything that could be planned beyond what they talked about was foolish as the battle would change over time. Still, just thinking of various things helped her to relax because when things do go wrong, and they will, she would have a plan.

 

            Janna decided to spend time in one of the small reading alcoves in the library with a book she’d been meaning to finish. She knew that coming back from the fight would be difficult, but she also knew that if she wasn’t relaxed, keeping a wild Jinx safe, was going to be a problem. Maybe she would play safe and maybe she’d be aggressive. Either way, Janna knew that her safety, along with her own and the rest of the team, was her first priority.

 

            Poppy originally wanted to do some last minute training but realized very quickly that was a bad idea. She would need all of her energy for the fight. After thinking for a few minutes, Poppy decided to walk into the library and get a book to read. It wasn’t easy for her to relax reading, but on a topic she enjoyed, like ancient armorcrafting techniques, it wasn’t bad. Still, she would have appreciated working in her father’s forge as a way to relax.

 

            Lulu went outside into the library’s courtyard and spent some time in the fresh air. Given that it was still early, Lulu spent the time looking around at people going about their morning routines and listening to the various animals that went about their morning routines as well. Lulu knew that a lot of people needed some form of caffeine in the morning, but the lines outside the 3 shops in the area was still surprising. Lulu turned to Pix and they both just laughed while people waited and waited for their morning drink, even if it made them late for work.

 

            As annoying it was, Jinx knew that spending energy on either playing video games or exploding things was probably a bad idea. So she decided instead to just stream some of her favorite shows until they had to leave. Shrio, Kuro, Dorcha, and Solas joined her as they all just watched people on TV blow things up. While it wasn’t probably the most relaxing thing, she still was more relaxed.

 

            Vel’Koz kept an eye on everyone, and the clock. Once he opened the barrier around the field, Malzahar would be swooping in to try and seize the energy. Fortunately, they would probably mess something up so hopefully they would be able to take advantage of it. Malzahar probably knew nothing about the field itself. He then remembered something and made a quick phone call.

 

            Once he finished cleaning up, Nasus decided to head to the library. As monotonous as his work was at times, for the next hour and a half, it was going to be a relief to not think about such things. There wasn’t much he could do for the battle itself except get everyone there. Once they were, all he could do was watch. With half an hour left, he readied the long car. Maybe for the last time, but something told him that everything would work out.

 

            With just 15 minutes left until they had to leave, Lux walked around and got everyone together. As they all stood in the main level, Lux tried to come up with something to say, but words escaped her for the moment. “Everyone ready?” They all nodded. “Ok then. Let’s do this.”

 

            “Star Guardian Power Up!” They all transformed and headed to the dock where they found Vel’Koz, Nasus, and Garen waiting.

 

            “You all ready?” Vel’Koz asked and they all nodded. “Ok then. We are just waiting for a few friends.” Vel’Koz opened the dock as the rest climbed into the car. Just as Lux was about to enter, she saw 2 police cars come driving up and smiled as she saw Caitlyn and Vi in the drivers’ seats. Lux climbed in and closed the door, Nasus backed out and Caitlyn and Vi provided a front and back escort out of the city. Lux looked around at the team the entire time and saw that despite everything, they were all nervous. The scenery around changed from the city, to the suburbs, and eventually to the forest that surrounded the field.

 

            They all pulled off the highway at a small isolated gate that hadn’t been there a few days before and drove along a dirt path before arriving at a sort of temple. Once they stopped, Lux opened the door and everyone got out. Caitlyn and Vi moved to the door to make sure it was secured then waved them all in. Inside they were astonished.

 

            Outside, the temple looked like a relic of a forgotten era that was about to crumble. Inside was a whole different story. It was almost untouched. Clean, polished stone, ever burning torches that lit up the whole area, wooden frames that showed the history of the temple and what had happened there. Once they were past the entrance hallway, the bookcases in the main room seemed to not age nor the books in them. The room itself clearly had some renovations recently as some modern tech was present. But the room itself was showing how much work and effort was put into it.

 

            As everyone looked around the room itself several things came more into focus. In the center was a large table with the battlefield on it. Around it were a series of pedestals glowing with energy.

 

            “It is here that in ancient times that when summoners arrive, they would make final plans and select their champions on the field. We will be doing things differently today. You will be on the field itself. Back then, champions were individuals who voluntarily gave themselves to the battle in order to fight. The magics on the field, then and now, would allow them to fight to the death. When they did die, they would revive after a period of time at their altar. Today you will not die however as you get closer, you will begin to feel tired, yet you will still be fully aware and able to fight, and eventually pass out.”

 

            They all looked at Vel’Koz in shock. “I can’t remove everything in order to make this work. Since all of the champions have long since passed on, we have to work with the five of you. I can’t work miracles. That’s your job.”

 

            “So how can we monitor how close we are to…oh dying?” Janna asked looking down as she said it.

 

            “There are arm bands in the champion room that you will wear into the fight. They can track your health, mana, items, and other things. That is how the old system worked and I can’t override it.”

 

            “So we are fighting a MOBA aren’t we?” Jinx asked and everyone looked at her with a mixture of expressions.

 

            “Well…actually yes. That is a very accurate way to describe it.” Vel’Koz had to pause for a moment before he understood.

 

            “Well that makes this so much easier.” Lux’s voice couldn’t hide the relief in her voice and everyone else perked up too.

 

            “I’m not sure why I didn’t think about that before now. Well I guess back then, they were actual items. Now we just use them as runes on what you already have. When you spawn in, you will see rune plates on your weapons for the various items and those will help you with damage, shields, slows, roots, and well…

 

            “We can figure that part out.” Jinx said as she looked at the 3 large doors on the other side of the room. “So what’s behind there?”

 

            “The door on the left is where you will go as that leads to where the champions would ready themselves for battle. The center door was for spectators that were not in the stands outside. Those have long since been grown over by the forest around us. It was basically box seats as they have a view from the altar and have access to viewing orbs for the action they couldn’t see. The door on the right was for the summoners who could control the champions during the fight.” Vel’Koz let that sink in for a bit.

 

            “That door on both sides is locked and even with all of their magic, the void won’t be able to break it. Not that it matters anyway. Summoners on their platforms won’t be able to do much except watch without champions. Once anyone opens that door on the left, Malzahar will be allowed to enter the other temple. The Nexuses are set with their energy so all we are waiting on is our group of summoners who will use the energy released once you all win to reform the barriers. Oh here they are.” Vel’Koz turned to see the group coming down the stairs.

 

            “Been a long time since we were in here. Well at least this time we get to watch and not participate. One of the things is that when you were doing this, any pain your champion felt, you did as well. It was meant to that while you could see more than they could, you were still there and had to be careful.” The summoner who’d been leading them finished as he lowered his hood. It was the same man as the other two groups but they seemed more determined this time.

 

            “Now, if you all win, I have to say if because anything can happen in the Rift, the energy from the other nexus will be released. Once it is, we will capture it and focus it through this,” he pointed to an object being removed from a very large crate. It was a very large crystal surrounded by a ring of metal. The crystal was floating inside the metal ring and it was glowing slightly. “This will rebuild the barrier system. It is old magic that can take a small spell, and magnify it. As far as we know, it is the only one left in the world. This requires a lot of energy however so if you don’t win, then we are in trouble.” He walked back to the rest of the summoners as they moved the crystal into the middle of the room and after a few minutes of rituals and some spellcasting, it glowed a little brighter.

 

            They then carried the crystal through the center door and the rest of them followed. It almost looked like a box at a stadium. They could see just about everything. There were even modern technologies woven in with the old ones. Old magical projection screens into some areas while modern TVs were in others. There were also overhead cameras so everyone could see just about everything.

 

            “All of this done so we can see everything. The magic that surrounds the field will prevent anyone from communicating with you while the 5 of you are in there. Whether it be modern technology or not. Once you are in there, then you are on your own.” The lead summoner turned to the Guardians and they all nodded. “From here, we can watch the fight, but we can’t do anything to intervene. So I will wish you good luck and may you be victorious.” He turned and with the rest of the summoners, conjured up some seats for them all to sit on while they watched.

 

            Lux turned to look at everyone else there. Vel’Koz and Nasus nodded with approval. There wasn’t anything more they could say at this point. Garen just looked helpless as he tried to not cry as he knew what was coming. Caitlyn and Vi just looked determined. Taking one last look, she spotted Dorcha and Solas, who were smiling. Clearly they knew something, or were just trying to put on a brave face. Lux took a deep breath, gave a nod and a smile, and with the rest of her team, headed back into the lobby. They all walked towards the door, and as Lux put her hand on the handle, she withdrew it.

 

            She turned to the rest of the team and they all looked back at her clearly expecting something. Lux was not only clumsy at times, but she was a horrible public speaker, despite evidence to the contrary. Lux knew she had to say something but what? Then it came to her.

 

            “Ok gather around for a moment.” The team looked up at her and they all grouped. Zephyr, Pix, Shiro, and Kuro sat on the respective shoulders of their Guardian.

 

            “I don’t know what we are going to face in there. None of us knew anything about what we would be doing, or where this would end up. Until now. This time, we know what we have to do. We know what we can’t let happen. We also have a plan, or at least an idea. We play to each other strengths, cover each other weaknesses, and if we trust in each other, then no one will stop us.

 

            “This will be the single greatest battle that we’ve ever faced and while we all know at the end we will come out alive, and can’t die in there, that doesn’t mean take unnecessary risks. Pick your fights carefully, cover your backs, and we will win this fight. A victory today will make our jobs easier, and a defeat will make our lives miserable, our jobs impossible, and our entire world in peril.

 

            “However, look what we’ve accomplished. Sure we’ve stumbled, we’ve had defeats, we’ve had setbacks, but we have never given up. We continue to fight, and we will continue to fight. We will not give up. We will not surrender. And we will win!”

 

            “Oh yeah!” Poppy sung her hammer onto her shoulder.

 

            “The winds will carry us to victory!” Janna gripped her staff tighter.

 

            “Yep. Let’s get them.” Lulu jumped into the air with Pix.

 

            “Bring it on!” Shiro transformed into the minigun while Kuro jumped on Jinx’s shoulder and squeaked.

 

            Lux turned and placed her hand on the door handle, and finally turned it. The doors opened, the team headed inside, and the doors closed behind them.

* * *

 

            As the sun rose over Runeterra, Malzahar looked down at the planet. He was looking forward to the upcoming fight, but they also had to wait. The only way they could get access to the energy trapped in the nexuses was to play the game the guardians were. Until then, they had to wait until the defenses dropped around the temple opposing them. The wait was starting to drive them all crazy.

 

            Looking up, Malzahar saw Rek’Sai taking a last minute nap; Cho’Gath was pacing around the room; Kha’Zix was sharping his blades; and Kog’Maw, well, he was eating. Malzhar knew they wouldn’t be able to keep calm longer and considering the sun was over the horizon at the site, Malzhar was wondering what was taking so long. As Malzahar looked out the window again, Cho’Gath came up behind him.

 

            “Prophet, the temple’s defenses are down.” Malzahar looked again and indeed it was down.

 

            “Come, let us go.” Malzahar opened a portal and after making sure that Cho’Gath and Rek’Sai had a massive collector, they went through. The members of the void emerged on the other side at the gate of the temple. Malzahar opened the gates of the temple and they all followed him inside. Once they were down the hallway they emerged into a large room.

 

            “Look around. Let us see what we will have to work with.” The group split up and looked around. Rek’Sai tried to open the right door, but they refused to open. Rek’Sai tried again, but even after she swung her tail into the door, they refused to open. She roared again but just when she was about to charge the door, Cho’Gath stepped between her and the door.

 

            “You aren’t going to get into that room. According to this book, that is where the summoners went to control the champions. It will do us no good. The other door is the one we need. And our time is short.”

 

            “Indeed. Set up the collector in the observation room and join us.” Malzahar ordered and he turned the knob and headed into the room. Cho’Gath and Rek’Sai set up the collector in the observation room and then quickly joined the rest in the champion ready room. Once they were all in, the door closed behind them and clearly locked.

 

            “I guess we have no choice now.” Rek’Sai said and the rest the group turned to her. Rek’Sai just shrunk into a corner. They all looked around and saw the gauntlets and Malzahar approached them. He picked one up and after he affixed it to his arm, it glowed and Malzahar grunted. The rest of the group moved in.

 

            “Does it hurt?” Kog’Maw said as he looked worried. Malzahar paused a moment before responding.

 

            “At first, but I think it is just the magics. My guess is this will help us in the battle to come. Give me a second.” Malzahar looked around for an explanation, but before he looked very far, a book landed on his head. Malzahar growled and picked it up. He quickly browsed through it. “It seems like these will manage runes that we will pick to enhance our powers.”

 

            “Did it say anything else?” Cho’Gath asked and he put one on his claw and groaned. The rest of the group did the same.

 

            “Nothing worth reading.” Malzahar said as they waited for more orders. Behind them five chambers began to glow. “I guess that works.” The group entered the chambers in no particular order and they waited.

 

            “How long will this take?” Kha’Zix said, as he rubbed his blades together.

 

            “As long as it takes.” Malzahar said. A few minutes later, the chambers illuminated again and they were off.

* * *

 

            As Lux and the team looked around they saw the armbands on a nearby table. Lux walked over and put one on her arm, and immediately grunted in pain. The rest of the team came over quickly but Lux stood up before they got to her.

 

            “I’m fine. It is just a little painful when you put in on. Now is there something…ouch.” A book fell on her head. “Nevermind.” Lux picked up the book as the rest of the team put the gauntlets on. She gave it a quick read and she laid it out. It was a full list of items that were available and their effects. “Everyone give this a quick…nevermind.” Four more books dropped, but the rest of the team did dodge them. They gave them all a quick read and picked the items they were going to purchase over the course of the battle.

 

            When they had all finished, five chambers along the wall that they all previously didn’t notice began to glow.

 

            “I guess it’s time.” Lux said and strode into the center one. Janna and Lulu took the opposite ends, while Poppy stood between Lulu and Lux, and Jinx between Lux and Janna. “Good luck, to us all.” The chambers illuminated again and they felt themselves being transported. It was all on them.

 

**The time is now. As the Guardians and the Void take to the field, the rest of the team that traveled with the Guardians, and the rest of Runeterra as a whole can only wait to see who will emerge victorious. It will be the hardest battle yet for the Guardians and only by working together can they emerge victorious.**

 

**_ The plans are made, the die is cast, the pieces are in motion. The Battle of Summoner’s Rift begins. _ **


End file.
